


The Finest Line

by starlightened



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Making Love, Oral Sex, Requited Love, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Tattoo Artist OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-04 09:32:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13361721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightened/pseuds/starlightened
Summary: Talia Rae Silvan was never really given the choice to be anything other than what her family pressured her to be. She'd never been allowed to stray from the path, or to find a future for herself.It wasn't until her best friend, Gladiolus Amicitia, presented her with another option that she realized she could choose her own destiny.A Gladio x TattooArtist!OC story.





	1. Prologue

“Talia, wake up.”

It was too early. Talia groaned, burying her face into the plush surface of her pillow in an attempt to burrow herself deeper into her sleeping bag. She couldn’t sense any light through her tightly shut eyelids, and the morning chill was still crisp in the air. 

“No.”

Her ears picked up a heavy sigh, sounding more amused than frustrated. “You were the one who said last night that you wanted to see the sunrise.”

“That was before I realized that seeing the sunrise meant being awake before the sun,” she grumbled, her voice muffled by the fabric covering her mouth and nose. 

Gladio, the one who’d been attempting to wake up his sleepy friend, sat cross-legged by her side and placed a large palm on her shoulder blade. He knew that eventually she would have to come up for air. “Come on, Tals. You won’t regret it.”

Talia let out a whine but finally sat up with a bit of assistance. Her wild mess of chestnut curls stuck up at odd angles, having forgotten to tie her unruly hair back when she went to bed. Her eyes were still half-closed, trying to adjust to the light that was starting to peek through the fabric of the tent.

Gladio helped her up and together they exited, their exhales coming out in tiny clouds as they stepped out into the morning dew. He unfolded their lawn chairs and positioned them towards the east, offering Talia a warm cup of Ebony that he’d brewed before she’d woken up.

She took it with a grateful smile, her freckled cheeks warming as she took the first few sips. The blue of the evening sky started to give way to the gentle kiss of dawn’s first light, and soon it was awash in the most beautiful shade of orange that Talia had ever seen. It was if the gods themselves had painted streaks of gold across all of Eos, piercing through the scant clouds until the world decided it was ready to awaken.

“See?” Gladio grinned, reaching over to nudge her shoulder. “Aren’t you glad I woke you up?”

“Smug,” Talia commented, eyeing him sideways. “But I’ll admit…it is really beautiful.”

Gladio’s eyes lingered on Talia a moment longer, on the way the glow of the sun illuminated the caramel of her skin, before turning back to the sky. Not that she noticed. “Yeah.”

Talia wrapped her hands around her coffee mug, quietly pensive as a comfortable silence settled between them. Gladio glanced over at her again, noticing what he thought was concern that marred her features. 

“What’s wrong?”

Her hazel eyes met his, and she shook her head. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

He hazarded a guess. “About school starting up?”

Talia chuckled, giving him a nod. He was always able to read her so easily, ever since they were children. “Yeah,” she admitted. “First day at the Fine Arts Academy of Insomnia tomorrow. Amira had to pull some strings with the administration to let me in. I just hope I don’t let her down.”

“Hey,” Gladio replied, his tone stern. “You could never let your sister down, you know that. She’s really proud of you. And your portfolio is great. You have nothing to worry about.”

Talia looked at him blearily. “What if I turn into one of those pretentious artists who wears black turtlenecks and berets and only drinks red wine and only talks about postmodernism and—”

Gladio’s rumbling laughter halted her rambling. “I’m sure Rion and I will knock some sense back into you.”

“You and my brother are a dangerous combination,” Talia grumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest to curl in on herself a little more to gather warmth. “But yeah. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Gladio teased, before his tone returned to its genuine nature. “Thank you for agreeing to come out for one last camping trip with me before the season ends. Iris is still a little too young and the guys try to avoid camping if they can help it.”

“Oh,” Talia smirked. “You mean those three hour hikes that you like so much have nothing to do with it?”

Gladio shrugged, a grin tugging at his lips. “I never said it didn’t.”

The pair shared a laugh and Talia went back to admiring the colour of the sky. The sun was rising up higher, the orange rays shrinking back to allow the delicate blue to breathe once again. She finished up her coffee and rose from her seat, stretching out her arms and taking in a deep breath of the fresh forest air.

“Shall we pack up and head home, then?” She asked, turning back to Gladio.

He opened his mouth to speak when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He grabbed it and Talia could tell that he was biting back a smile as he quickly typed out a reply, hitting send before putting it away again.

Curiosity got the best of her. “Who was that?”

“Oh,” Gladio said dismissively with a wave of his hand. “Just some girl I’m seeing.”

Talia knew that they shouldn’t have, but the words weighed heavily in her mind. She turned away from him and busied herself with cleaning up the makeshift coffee station. When she found her voice again, she cursed herself with how clipped she sounded. “We should probably head back, yeah?”

From where he was seated in his lawn chair, she heard Gladio exhale heavily through his nose. “Yeah,” he agreed, rising to his feet. “Let’s pack up and go home.”


	2. One

**_Two years later…_ **

“I fucking hate school.”

Gladio barely looked up from the book that was open in his lap, grunting in what he hoped sounded like solidarity from the floor as Talia furiously tapped away at her laptop’s keyboard.

She continued to grumble under her breath. “I went to art school so I could make art. Not to write essays on any of this other art history crap.”

Gladio raised an eyebrow, glancing at his friend as she ran a frustrated hand through her thick, curly hair, tugging at the roots. “I happen to like that art history crap, just so you know.”

Talia shot him a glare. “Then you write these three papers that are due next week.”

He whistled low, unable to stop a chuckle from leaking out. “Why’d you wait til the last minute to start writing? Don’t you also have midterm portfolio due dates coming up soon too?”

“Don’t remind me,” Talia let out a pitiful whine, her forehead colliding with the keyboard. A mass of jumbled letters and symbols ran on the blank slate of her new document until she lifted her face back up to groan. “All of my paintings are half-done, and I have another drawing I have to finish in two days. How am I supposed to survive this stupid semester?”

Gladio dogeared his book and rose, walking over to where Talia was sat at her desk. He picked up the first cover of her pile of sources and read it aloud. _“The History of Insomnian Art: Volume III._ Oddly specific.” His gaze shifted to Talia, who looked up at him, defeated. “You haven’t started reading yet, have you?”

Talia got up from her swivel chair and marched over to her bed, flopping down face first. Her response was muffled by her sheets, but Gladio heard a distinct and regretful _Not exactly._

He sighed, tossing the book back and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Maybe you should take an academic break. It doesn’t seem like you’re really into this whole college thing.”

Talia turned her head, her hazel eyes locked on his amber ones. “You know why I can’t do that.”

“Amira can’t get mad at you if she sees how unhappy you are,” Gladio stated. “Have you even told your parents that you hate being in school?”

Talia rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t want to bother them with stuff like this. I feel like they moved to Altissia specifically so they could avoid any of the bullshit that comes with me and my siblings. Besides, it’s not like they’ve ever really cared what I do, anyway. They were always too focused on making sure that Amira was the perfect child.”

Gladio snorted. “And what about Rion?”

Talia sat up on her elbows and deadpanned, “Rion used to eat dirt. Expectations were low.”

At that, he burst out laughing, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “I guess that’s why he and I get along.”

“You mean other than the fact that he’s the only person who can actually knock you on your ass in a sparring match?” Talia teased, sticking her tongue out at him. Her older brother and Gladio had met as children and were in the same class through most of their schooling—Rion was the reason they’d become friends in the first place. 

The pair had met during Talia’s first year of middle school. Rion had been home with the flu, and Talia was tasked with collecting her brother’s homework from one of his classmates. That classmate ended up being Gladio. He held her books and walked her home, and the two were inseparable ever since.

From downstairs, the jangle of keys turning in a lock echoed throughout the otherwise empty house. Talia popped her head out of her bedroom door in time to catch Amira and her husband Koren shuffling inside with large grocery bags.

“Hey,” Talia rushed down the stairs to help relieve her sister. “How much did you guys buy? There’s enough to feed a small village here.”

“Well,” Amira eyed Gladio, who was taking some of the bags from Koren’s hands. “Rion’s on his way, and apparently that one is still growing, and you said he was staying for dinner. So, food.”

Talia’s eldest sibling was never shy about her feelings towards the Royal Shield. Amira had never been overly fond of Gladio, always attributing Rion’s academic slacking to how much time the boys spent in the palace’s training facility. She also never really liked the idea of how much time Talia and Gladio spent alone. Nothing ever happened, but Amira always watched Gladio like a hawk whenever he was under her roof. Eight years of friendship later and she hadn’t let up an inch.

There was no use in starting an argument, so Talia let it go. Amira and Koren were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner when the front door opened again.

“Something in here smells good!”

Talia hopped up from where she and Gladio were sitting in the living room and bound over to the front door where Rion was taking off his coat, dusting snow off his head. She crashed into him, squeezing her arms around his middle. “Ri-Ri!”

Her brother groaned, peeling himself away from his younger sister. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Squirt?”

“As many times as it takes until you stop calling me Squirt,” she challenged, sticking her tongue out at him. Rion and Talia were only eleven months apart in age, and so growing up, they were always a little closer with each other than they were with Amira. When they were younger, people often confused them for twins. That was the case until Rion kept growing and Talia suddenly didn’t, coming up to just about her brother’s shoulders while Rion’s height nearly challenged Gladio’s.

His complexion was darker than Talia’s by a few shades, and his hair was buzzed short to his scalp with some zig-zagged designs along the sides. His rakish smile always won people over, as did his charm and his sense of humour. He’d always had an easy time wooing both women and men for those reasons—that, and Rion always knew how to have a good time.

“Hey man,” Rion greeted Gladio with a one armed hug. “Should’ve known that you’d be here if there was gonna be food.”

Gladio patted his muscled belly with a chuckle. “Training is kicking up into high gear recently now that Noct is learning how to warp. Gotta get my nutrients in or else he’ll think he can catch up to me.”

Rion gave Gladio a cheeky grin. “You mean like me?”

The Shield rolled his eyes. “You beat me once when we were fifteen and you still won’t let it go.”

“Hey, I hold that moment in high regard,” he protested as Talia led them both into the dining room to help set the table. “Noct could use some pointers from Ignis. That guy beats you in matches all the time.”

Gladio couldn’t help but grumble affectionately, “Slippery little shit.”

Dinners at Amira’s house were usually quieter than Talia would have liked. She loved being with her siblings and her best friend, but ever since Amira and Koren had gotten married, it was almost as if she’d assumed the role parent to Rion and herself. Six years her senior, she’d always been the mature one, the one that their parents had to rely on to be the model student, model daughter, and now, for Koren, the model wife.

The mere idea of marriage had Talia gagging.

“Something wrong with the chicken?” Amira asked, clipped, eyeing Talia from across the table.

She hadn’t realized she’d _actually_ gagged. “No, sorry, it’s delicious. I was thinking of something else.”

“Was it Gladio’s haircut?” Rion joked. “What’s going on with the hair in the back, man?”

Gladio gave Rion a friendly punch. “I’m growing it out. It’s gonna be in an awkward phase for a while. Give it a few more months.”

A brief silence settled amongst them, filled only with the clinking of silverware against plates. “So, Talia,” Amira piped up, turning her attention towards her little sister. “How are your classes going?” It was a question that she asked often enough, especially since she was friends with someone in the registrar’s office. But all the same, it was a question that Talia dreaded.

“They’re going.” 

At the raise of Amira’s eyebrow, Talia heaved a sigh, poking at the food on her plate.

“I have some papers to finish, and I’ll work on them after dinner. I promise.”

Amira went back to spearing her salad with her fork. “Mom and Dad left you a lot of gil for your education, you know? So at least try to make the most of it. I had to pull a lot of strings to get you into your program with that half-finished portfolio you tried to submit.”

“I thought her drawings were great,” Gladio interrupted, smiling warmly at Talia before zeroing back in on her sister. “They accepted her on quality, not quantity.”

Talia saw the telltale clench of Amira’s jaw, that unimpressed look plain as day across her face. It amazed Talia how much her sister took after their mother—she would get that exact same look whenever she and her siblings got in trouble for anything. Her hazel eyes, the ones that all three Silvan siblings shared, would lose all their warmth and practically turn to stone. Talia had always been afraid of that look, but Gladio challenged her stare with his own. It was fire against fire, trying to see who would get burned first.

Luckily, Rion stepped in to ease the tension. “Do you ever think about how Brussel sprouts are just really tiny heads of lettuce?”

After dinner, Talia headed up to her room after bidding her brother goodbye with Gladio in tow. She plopped down in her desk chair and picked up _The History of Insomnian Art: Volume III,_ turning to the section that she needed in order to get started on her paper.

Gladio picked up the book he’d left abandoned on the floor from earlier. “You want me to go?”

Talia looked up at him with a frown. “You don’t have to.”

He sighed, running a hand through his outgrown hair. “Amira was in a bit of a mood tonight. Probably best that I head home, anyway. Iris is probably driving my dad nuts by now.”

She faked a smile and turned back to her books. “Yeah, probably.”

Gladio lingered in the doorway, his hand grazing the brass of the knob. He paused for a second before turning back to Talia. “You don’t have to be her idea of perfect, you know,” he offered, his voice deep and sincere. “You don’t have to stay in school if it makes you miserable. You don’t deserve any of that.”

Talia pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache rising behind her eyes. “What would you suggest then, Gladio? I’m low on ideas.”

He scratched at his stubble before a light went off inside his head. “Aren’t you friends with that tattoo artist, Faye?” 

Talia quirked a brow. “Yeah.”

“Why don’t you see if she’s taking on any apprentices?” He asked. “Can’t hurt to have a conversation. Besides, you’ve always preferred hands-on stuff over books and essays anyway. Could be perfect for you.”

She thought about it for a second, weighed her options. Talia smiled, her gaze meeting Gladio’s. “Thanks, Gladdy. I’ll shoot her a text.”

“No problem,” he responded, opening up his arms. “Can I get my goodbye hug before I leave?”

Talia stood and marched over to Gladio, throwing her arms around his middle. She was so short next to him, his enormous body engulfing her in his embrace. He rubbed at her shoulders and gave her a peck on the top of her head.

“Love you, Tals.”

The words always shook her, but she never let it show. “Love you too, Gladdy.”

After Gladio left, Talia went back to her desk, chin in hand, and read through the dense text describing early Insomnian pottery. She read the same three sentences over and over before realizing that she hadn’t retained any of the information. Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and closed the book, hoping that her brain would find it within itself to cooperate with her for once.

Talia glanced at her phone, and then back at the pile of books that awaited her. She thought of Gladio’s words, and how he’d said that she deserved to be happy. She’d never really considered it before, never thought of any other options besides being in school since her two older siblings had both done it. She’d never tried to carve a path for herself, always followed the winding roads that others had built for her.

Enough of that.

She picked up her phone and opened a new text, typing in Faye’s name.

_Hey! It’s Talia. I wanted to ask you something…_


	3. Two

Talia was nervous. It was a sobering feeling, being anxious for the first time in what felt like forever. She’d experienced a spike in anxiety whenever Amira would grill her about school, but it had never felt as crippling as it had in that moment.

 _This is just a conversation between two friends,_ she reminded herself. _It’s not a big deal._

She rounded the block, her boots crunching in the heavy snow, and came up to the front door of the studio: New Relic Tattoos. The custom signage was familiar to her, as she’d gotten a number of smaller tattoos from Faye over the years. 

Her friend was always bugging her to let her do her full sleeve, some intricate geometric patterns that Faye had recently become fond of in her work. Talia had always refused, citing that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to have tattoos depending on what line of work she went into in the future, but now, it felt like her future was just past those deckled front doors.

She took in a deep breath, pulled on the handle and walked inside.

“Tals!”

Talia unzipped her coat and stomped off the excess snow from her boots as Faye came over from behind the counter to offer her friend a hug.

Faye was everything that Talia wished she could be—totally carefree, an excellent confidant, and completely non-judgmental. She was tall, taller than Talia at least by three or four inches, with unnaturally silver-blonde hair that was cropped into a stylish pixie cut. She had alabaster skin that made her colourful tattoos pop forward, and the biggest blue eyes Talia had ever seen. She was older than Amira by a few years, just hitting thirty years old, and had somehow managed to open one of the most reputable tattoo studios in all of Insomnia.

“Come over to my office,” Faye gestured, leading Talia towards the back. There were a handful of artist working, the buzz of the tattoo machines audible over the music playing through the speakers.

The shop itself wasn’t large, but it felt warm and comfortable. The floors were tiled with a marble finish, and the walls were white with tons of framed artwork and paintings. There were couches in the front waiting area for clients, and the front desk had jewelry that was available for purchase. The front desk itself separated the lobby from the artists’ stations, and Talia had to walk around it to follow Faye to her office.

Faye’s office was also her work station, big enough that she was able to have a desk on one side and a tattoo bed on the other with her toolbox and other supplies. A shelf of inks, colour coordinated, lined the wall above her work station, and the walls were covered in an expensive looking wallpaper that was white with silver filigree detailing. Artwork that she’d been given over the years was always being rotated, along with some of her own personal work.

“So,” Faye said, leaning back in her black leather chair behind her desk. “You want an apprenticeship?”

Talia tugged at the ends of her curls nervously. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t expect you to just flat-out give me one, and I know it seems out of the blue, but I got this thought in my head that it would be kind of the perfect career choice and—”

Faye leaned forward and put her hand up, stopping Talia’s rambling in her tracks.

“Look,” she said sternly, though her eyes were warm. “You know I love you, Tals. And you know I think you have all the talent in the world. But this isn’t an easy job. People are trusting you with their bodies, with translating their vision into a reality. These clients will wear your art on their skin forever, and that’s not something to be taken lightly. Do you understand?”

Talia nodded profusely.

“Good.” Faye leaned back, looking Talia directly in the eye. “I’ve seen your portfolio, and I know you’re smart, and that you’re capable. What I’m more worried about is your dedication. You’ve told me before how you’ve had trouble keeping up with deadlines for school. How do I know you won’t fall behind as well with your sketches for clients?”

“That’s different,” Talia argued. “Writing papers and doing research on stuff I don’t care about is what’s given me trouble keeping up with the actual art making part of school. You know I’m one hundred percent dedicated to making the best art that I can. I’m just…” She trailed off, slumping back in her seat. “I’m just not made for school, I guess.”

Faye smiled, resting her chin on her fist. “A lot of brilliant minded people aren’t, hon. Don’t beat yourself up on that front.”

Talia played with the hem of her sweater. “Hard not to, when you’ve got someone like my sister breathing down your neck on a daily basis”

Faye chuckled. “Amira needs to lighten up. And you need to remind yourself that your life is your own, and that you shouldn’t have to adjust your future for her. You’re two different people with different lives. Once she starts seeing you as an adult rather than just her baby sister, she’ll understand that.”

She folded her hands together, placing her forearms on her desk. She leaned forward, her face very stern once more.

“I’m willing to bring you on as an apprentice. I think you know I wouldn’t have invited you here if that hadn’t been my intention from the beginning. But you need to prove to me that this is something that you really want. You need to be sketching all the time. Create a flash sheet that I can critique so I can see what will and won’t work as a tattoo. You need to be here at least five days a week, learning the clean way to set up and tear down. There’s a lot of training you need to do before you can even think of putting needle to skin. You understand?”

Talia couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Yes. I understand.”

Faye stood, and Talia followed. The two shook hands before Faye rounded the desk and enveloped Talia in a huge bear hug. “I can’t wait until you become the most famous tattoo artist in this whole region,” she hummed, giving her an extra squeeze. “You have all the talent and ability. I mean that. You just need to put in the work and you’ll get there.”

Talia felt tears coming to her eyes. Faye believed in her. 

“So, my new apprentice,” Faye grinned, wrapping an arm around Talia’s shoulders. “Let me show you around.”

—

“No fucking way!”

“Noctis, language.”

Noctis eyed Ignis from across the booth at the bar, who merely shot him an amused look before the young prince turned his attention back to Talia. “You’re gonna be a tattoo artist? That’s so awesome!”

Talia smiled, taking a sip of her beer. “I’m really excited. Faye showed me how to do set ups and tear downs today, and I have some sketches that she wants me to finish by the end of the week.”

“Gotta be tough balancing this and school,” Prompto noted in awe. “How are you gonna keep that up?”

She nervously picked at the label, already disintegrating from the condensation. “I’m going to drop out, I think. Faye wants me there five days a week, so that’s already basically a full-time job. And unlike school, New Relic is actually somewhere I _want_ to be.”

Ignis brought a gloved finger to his chin, seeming pensive for a moment. “Well, it is true that you seem much more excited about the prospect of this apprenticeship than you ever had about academics,” he admitted. “Have you told your siblings of your decision just yet?”

Talia shook her head. “Rion wouldn’t care, he’s always known I wasn’t meant for traditional schooling. But Amira would freak out. I don’t know if I can tell her just yet. Maybe once I actually get my footing with this tattooing gig, and I can prove to her that it’s worth it.”

“Well, I propose a toast,” Gladio exclaimed, draping an arm over Talia’s shoulders. “To Tals, and all your future success. I can’t wait for you to blow us all away.”

The table cheered and clinked glasses before returning to silly chatter and anecdotes of Gladio beating Noctis in training that day. Prompto retold a story of how he almost got punched in the face taking photos in the park because he accidentally aimed his camera at a pretty girl with a very protective boyfriend, and Ignis recounted how he _almost_ got the recipe down for Noctis’ favourite pastries from Lestallum.

After a few hours, the evening started to wind down and it was time for everyone to head home. Ignis, who’d only opted to drink Ebony, took on the task of driving Prompto and Noctis back to the Prince’s flat. The bar where they’d set up camp wasn’t too far from Talia’s place, so Gladio offered to walk her home.

He held out his arm for her and she took it, looping hers through the crook of his elbow.

“You know, I really am proud of you,” he said, as they wandered along the illuminated sidewalks, their shadows stretching and compressing as they walked from streetlamp to streetlamp. “You’re finally doing something that makes you happy. I can already see it on your face, you’re totally glowing.”

Talia blushed. “Am I? Are you sure it isn’t from the beer?”

Gladio grunted out a laugh, nudging her lightly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

They strolled in silence for a while, turning into Talia’s suburb. Gladio spoke up again.

“Let’s make a deal.”

She looked up at him with curious eyes. “What kind of deal?”

“When you get good enough, you can tattoo me.”

Talia stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait, what?”

“I’ve always wanted a big back piece,” Gladio explained, turning to face her. Their eyes met, twinkling under the starlit sky. “I’ve been looking around for the perfect artist for a while, but never found one that I really liked. I would be honoured if you did it.”

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Okay. You have a deal.”

Gladio pulled her in for a hug. “Good.”

It didn’t take much longer for them to get to Talia’s front door. She dug into her purse for her keys and unlocked it. Turning to Gladio, she asked, “Amira and Koren aren’t home yet. Do you want to hang out for a bit?”

Gladio seemed to be weighing his options, and then glanced at the time on his phone. “No, I can’t. Cass is waiting for me at her place, and I’m running late as it is.”

Talia felt her heart drop down to her stomach, but she tried not to let it show. She couldn’t be sure how successful she was. “Okay.”

He offered her an apologetic smile. “Rain check?”

She mirrored his expression, already slipping into the house. “Yeah. Sure.” Then she shut the front door.

Gladio stood on her front porch, sighing to himself with his head hung low. He wanted to do nothing more but tear the door open and say something to her—anything—but he knew he couldn’t. So instead, he suppressed the fluttering sensation in his stomach and walked away, reminding himself that he already had a girlfriend.

One who wasn’t sitting on the other side of that door, keeping silent tears at bay.


	4. Three

A few months passed, the winter snow melting away to reveal the beautiful green earth sprouting new life with the changing of the seasons. Days grew longer, the sun clinging to its position high in the vast canvas of periwinkle blue more and more each day. The winter chill had faded at last so that spring could finally be allowed to breathe.

It had been about a week since Talia had quit school officially. She’d tried to get her papers in on time, succeeding in a few classes but then altogether forgetting deadlines for others, leaving her grades beyond saving anyway. The university’s administration said that she could resume courses whenever she was ready to return—for that, at least, she was thankful.

So instead, she poured her heart and soul into her apprenticeship. She was there with Faye every day from open til close, observing her mentor’s techniques as well as the other artists who worked at the studio. Talia made multiple flash sheets, and began practicing on grapefruits and synthetic skin. Faye couldn’t help but marvel at her raw talent, commenting on how jealous she was that Talia had picked up the art as quickly as she had.

Some of her lines were a little shaky here and there, and her shading still needed a little bit of practice, but Talia had the prowess of a tattoo prodigy. Holding the machine felt like an extension of her hand, like it was always meant to be there.

Talia finally felt like she was where she belonged.

She still hadn’t told Amira about what was going on. She hadn’t told Rion either—not because she was worried that her older brother would disapprove, but he was so busy training to be a member of the Kingsglaive that she hadn’t had any time to catch up with him.

Mostly, she confided in Gladio.

He always came by the shop at the end of the day whenever he was free so that he could see what she was working on. He never showed up during work hours, partially because of his own training and busy schedule, but also because he didn’t want to be a distraction.

Gladio was fascinated by tattoos, that much was obvious. Talia could tell from the vibrations in his body whenever he came through the front door that he was itching to get tattooed. And she was eager to do it, but not without Faye’s permission first.

That day was no different from the rest. Gladio came in, greeting Faye at the front desk, who was double checking the calendars for the next day, and made his way over to Talia who was practicing script on synthetic skin.

“That stuff is so weird,” Gladio commented, poking at the rectangular slab. “Tattooing won’t feel like that when you do it, right?”

“Nah,” Talia sighed, snapping off her gloves and tossing them in the trash so that she could wipe at her forehead a little bit. “Real skin has a different texture, more bounce. And it definitely takes ink better than this stuff. But hey, look—”

Talia lifted up her leg, tugging up the hem of her jeans to reveal a small enso symbol on her left inner ankle.

“I tattooed myself today!”

“Hey, look at that,” Gladio grinned, leaning down to take a closer look. “That looks pretty good. Seriously looks like an actual brush mark. That’s so crazy!”

“I know, right?” Gladio heard Faye chuckle as she made her way over to the pair. “The girl’s a natural. You’re pretty much ready to start taking on practice clients, if you have people who want to get some work done.”

Gladio perked up a bit at that. Faye couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She jerked her thumb in his direction, her eyes set on Talia’s. “Your boyfriend’s eager, isn’t he?”

“Uh, ah,” Talia sputtered, her cheeks turning pink. “He’s not—we’re not—”

Faye looked dumbly between her and Gladio, her eyebrows raised so high that Talia was afraid they might peel off her face and fly away. “You’re not dating?”

Gladio scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I, uh…I have a girlfriend, actually.”

Faye immediately looked unimpressed. “You sure do spend a lot of time with her, then.”

Gladio was about to open his mouth to protest, but Talia stepped interjected. “Thank you, Faye,” she said sincerely, a smile on her face. “For letting me move on to practice clients, that is. I really appreciate that you trust me enough to move forward.”

Faye sighed, and placed a hand on Talia’s shoulder. “You’ve more than proven yourself so far, sweetie. But anyway, I have a few people lined up if you need anyone. And this one,” she turned to fix a not-so-playful glare at Gladio, “definitely wants to get something. Now go on, go home, both of you. Shop’s closed.”

The pair left, clouds moving in to dull the light from the moon. Droplets started to fall from the sky as they were walking back to Talia’s house, and they broke off into a sprint as the rain came pouring down.

“Where did all this rain come from?” Talia cried out as her sneakers slapped against the wet pavement, her hands trying to cover her hair to no avail.

“Who cares, just keep running!” Gladio bellowed, a few strides ahead of her. “We’re almost there!”

It felt like forever until they finally made it to the safety of her front porch, the canopy shielding them from the worst of the sudden storm. They were fairly soaked, the chill starting to set in as a gust of wind cooled their damp skin.

“You should come in and dry off,” Talia said, her hand on the doorknob. “You’re going to get sick if you go home like this.”

Gladio shook himself off like a wet dog, and Talia screeched with laughter as the droplets hit her face. He grinned down at her, shrugging casually. “If I could borrow an umbrella, that might be good enough.”

Talia opened the door and ushered him inside. Just as it clicked shut, she heard a voice from the dining room.

“Talia. Come here.”

Curiously eyeing Gladio, she made her way over to where Amira was sitting with a glass of wine, trying to ignore the squelch of her wet shoes on the hardwood floor. Her eldest sibling was seated still as a statue, her lips turned into a deep frown. Her brow was furrowed, and her usually beautiful features became harsh and unforgiving.

“What’s up, Mimi?”

Amira’s eyes flicked to Talia’s, holding her gaze with an electricity that shook her to her bones. “I got a call from the university today.”

Talia felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. From behind, she felt Gladio’s presence looming, like a guardian watching over her.

Maybe playing dumb would work. “What did they call you about?”

“They left a voicemail, actually,” Amira replied, her tone carrying a false sweetness that frightened her. “They wanted you to know that you successfully dropped out of your program, and that they’re going to be sending you a transcript of your final grades as soon a they’re released.”

Talia gulped. “Look, Amira—”

“You want to explain to me what the fuck you were thinking?” She gripped the thin handle of her wine glass so tightly that Talia was afraid it would snap in half. The dark red liquid inside vibrated with Amira’s anger, and Talia could tell by the redness at the base of her neck floating up from her chest that she was a little tipsy. “What the fuck have you been doing then, if you haven’t been going to school every day?”

Gladio stepped closer, unable to stop himself from baring his teeth. “That’s none of your business.”

“This is a conversation between me and my sister,” Amira barked. “You stay the fuck out of it.”

“Amira, don’t talk to him like that!” Talia shot right back, her hands closing into fists. “If you must know, I got an apprenticeship at Faye’s tattoo shop. She’s training me to be a tattoo artist.”

Amira sat back in her chair, her mouth slightly agape. After a moment, she scoffed. “So, what, you’re going to work in a dingy tattoo parlour for the rest of your life, tattooing gang members and bikers all day?”

“Faye’s shop is not dingy, you’ve never even set foot in New Relic!” Talia protested, her temper rising. “And who the fuck cares if I only tattoo gang members and bikers, at least I’ll be making money doing something I actually love to do!”

“Typical Talia, always choosing the easy way out,” Amira scoffed, sliding her glass of wine away and rising to her feet. “Do you know how much convincing it took for me to get you into that fucking program at the Fine Arts Academy? Do you even care? Do you know how long it took Mom and Dad to save up all that money for your education? So that you could, what, throw it away by destroying other people’s bodies?”

“It’s _art!”_ She cried. “It’s people like you with opinions like that that are detrimental to the progression of the industry. It’s not gang shit, and it’s not just biker shit anymore. It’s real art on real people, and I’m actually fucking happy for once! I’m doing something with my life that feels right for a change.”

“And then what? You’re going to cover yourself in tattoos, head to toe? What happens when you need to get a loan at the bank, or if you want to change careers? What are you going to do then? No one is going to want to associate with you if you look like a criminal, Talia.”

Talia threw her arms up in the air. “You’re not listening to a fucking thing I’m saying. Times have changed, tattoos aren’t what they used to be, Mimi. This is my chance to have a career that I love, where I get to actually impact peoples’ lives with the art that I’ll be able to make.”

“And what happens when you’re old and your tattoos have all faded and your skin gets all saggy?” Amira challenged. “You’re not thinking this through, Talia.”

“Yes I am!” She argued, stomping her foot down. “I don’t give a fuck about any of that. You do, because that’s all that matters to you. Appearance. All you care about is being perfect, and trying to make me just like you. Well, news flash, Amira, I don’t want to be like you. I’ve never wanted to be like you. You’re not Mom. Just because you can’t have kids doesn’t mean you can treat me like I’m your daughter. Stop trying to fucking control everything that I do and _fuck off!”_

One could have heard a pin drop.

The words hung heavy in the air, anger reverberating off the walls before soaking into every surface of the room. Amira’s nostrils flared, and Talia could have sworn she saw a vein in her forehead throb. Her heart was beating so hard that she could hear it between her ears.

But over the intense thrumming, she heard Amira’s voice, just above a whisper. She spat out the words from between her teeth, more of a hiss than anything else.

“Get out of my house.”

Talia released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, tears of frustration blurring her vision. She turned on her heel, the wet soles squeaking as she went, and quickly made her way to the front door. She registered Gladio’s footsteps chasing after her as she burst out of the house, the rain outside coming down in buckets over Insomnia while thunder rumbled through the sky.

Talia broke out into a sprint. She was fully crying now, the salt from her tears mixing in with the rain staining her cheeks. She kept moving because she had to, she couldn’t stop, couldn’t think about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other. She could hear Gladio’s voice calling after her as she ran, and she pushed herself to move faster, not sure of where she was going or where she _could_ go.

There was an uneven patch of cement in the sidewalk and she tripped, falling on her hands and knees in a skid. The heels of her palms were slightly bloodied from the fall, and her jeans were ripped open at the knee to reveal open scrapes that bled into the dark blue denim.

Gladio finally caught up to her, immediately dropping down to the ground.

“Shit, Tals, are you okay?”

She looked at her hands, cut up and bloody, and curled in on herself, crying harder. Gladio encircled her in his arms and lifted her up, cradling her against his chest. 

“Come on.” His chest rumbled as he spoke. He was so warm, and she instinctively pressed herself against him even more as he walked with her in his grasp. She wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking, she just knew that he was leading her somewhere outside of her neighbourhood. Eventually, when she heard the voice of an older man, a familiar voice, ushering them both inside.

“Jared,” a young female voice called out. “Who is—Gladdy? Is that you? And is that—oh my gosh! Is that Talia? Is she okay?”

“Iris,” Gladio grunted, adjusting his grip on Talia’s exhausted body. “Help Jared run a hot bath, would you? I’m going to set up the guest room. Talia’s gonna stay with us for a little while.”

“Your girlfriend won’t like that,” Talia murmured under her breath, her voice cracking. She wasn’t sure if Gladio heard, or if he purposely ignored her.

Jared, the Amicitia family butler, prepared the tub while Iris chose some soothing bath salts for Talia’s weary bones. Gladio sat her down on the bed in the guest room and gathered his first aid kit. The room itself was decorated fairly plainly, nothing excessively lavish, but still nicer than her room in Amira’s house. Talia figured that was one of the perks with being part of a noble bloodline.

Gladio took Talia’s hands and examined them closely. “There’s a bit of dirt. I have to clean it out with alcohol. Okay?”

She sighed, her eyes swollen and tired. “Just do it.”

Gladio soaked a clean rag with the antibacterial fluid and wiped down her cuts, getting the grit out of them. It stung, and she recoiled slightly, but Gladio was efficient and precise. She figured he’d done this enough times on himself that by now he knew how to properly patch up a wound.

“It isn’t so bad,” he said quietly, applying some healing ointment to them before bandaging them up and moving to fix up her knee. “You should be okay in a few days. Not long enough to knock you out of commission for tattooing, that’s for sure.”

Talia placed her hand on Gladio’s shoulder, causing him to look up at her. “Thank you,” she offered with a sniffle. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Gladio gave her a half-smile as he packed up his medical supplies. He rose to his feet, giving her a peck on the top of he head. “Don’t mention it. There are some clothes over on top of the dresser for after your bath. They’re mine, but I didn’t have anything else, since Iris’ clothes are probably too small…it’s just a shirt and a pair of shorts. You can change into them after you soak in the tub for a bit.”

He got up and started towards the door when Talia called out his name. Gladio turned, and saw her fiddling with the hem of her soaking wet shirt, her curls weighed down at her shoulders from all of the rain water. “Promise me you won’t tell Rion. I should be the one to do it.”

Gladio exhaled heavily through his nose before nodding. “Okay. I promise.”

He left her alone so that she could have her privacy and take her bath in peace. He went to the shelter of his room and changed into dry clothes before flopping down on the bed.

 _What a mess,_ he thought. Unsure of what to do, he called Ignis for some outside perspective. Ignis picked up on the first ring as he always did, and offered a friendly ear as Gladio explained everything that had happened between Talia and her sister.

 _“And so now Talia is staying at your house?”_ Ignis repeated, sounding curious on the other end. _“What does Cass think of this?”_

“Well, I haven’t told her yet,” Gladio replied, running a hand through his hair. “But she won’t get mad, right? This isn’t that big of a deal.”

 _“You spend an awful lot of time with Talia,”_ Ignis noted. _“You can’t honestly tell me that Cass hasn’t gotten at least slightly jealous of your friendship with her.”_

“She knows that we’re friends. And it’s true, that’s all it is.”

_“Are you and Cass no longer being intimate?”_

“Iggy, what the hell, man,” Gladio groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead. 

Silence on the other end meant that Ignis was waiting for a response.

“I mean, it’s been a while, but things with me and Cass are fine.”

Ignis sighed. _“Just be careful, Gladio,”_ he warned. _“Not just for yourself. Please also keep Talia’s wellbeing in mind. You can have a tendency to be bullish at the best of times, and blind to those around you. Please do your best not to take her for granted.”_

Gladio paused for a second as Ignis’ words sank in. “Are you talking about Cass, or about Talia?”

Ignis huffed out a breath. _“Goodnight, Gladiolus.”_

And the line went dead.

Gladio tossed his phone aside and stared blankly at the ceiling. _What a mess,_ his brain repeated over and over as his thoughts kept wandering to the girl sleeping in the room next door. _What a fucking mess._


	5. Four

It had been a week since Talia had her impromptu move-in with Gladio and his family. Clarus didn’t seem to mind, as he’d known her and her family for nearly a decade and understood that Amira could be difficult at the best of times. 

Iris absolutely _loved_ having Talia over—she was just about reaching that age where the presence of an older sister figure was desperately needed, since Dahlia Amicitia had passed away so many years prior. Iris would try to stay up as late as she was allowed, hanging out with Talia and letting her doodle on her arm. She joked with Gladio that when she was older, she was going to get two full sleeve tattoos, to which Gladio just groaned with a playful roll of his eyes.

Everything was great. Except for the fact that their living situation had forced Talia to confront her feelings towards her best friend, the feelings that she’d tried so hard to suppress for the past eight years.

Talia always had a crush on Gladio. Rion knew it, but he never said anything. But when they got older and started getting around the age where dating became an option, Talia knew that Gladio would never look at her that way. He always saw her as Rion’s little sister, the awkward, skinny girl with the tight curly hair and dark caramel complexion plastered with freckles, and slightly crooked teeth.

When she got to high school though, Talia figured out how to keep her hair under control for maximum volume and shine, got braces to align her teeth into a set of perfect, pearly rows, and soaked up the sun, freckles be damned. She’d also filled out some as she got older, the curves from her father’s side of the family finally widening her hips and filling out her bust.

She’d gotten plenty of attention from other guys in school, but never Gladio. She didn’t even have the heart to try and date anyone else. She’d kissed a few boys, but never took it further. Gladio was the one she’d always wanted to see do a double-take. But he was always busy with other girls, dating one after another and leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

It was embarrassing to admit that she wanted to be one of those broken hearts. At least she would have had a chance.

It didn’t help either that Gladio loved to parade around the house with barely any clothes on. It was like the man was allergic to fabric. It didn’t matter if he was just emerging from the shower, cooking food, or sitting around reading a book, he rarely had a shirt on if he could help it. He told Talia it was because he ran hot, and she had to try her hardest not to gawk at him. His skin was smooth and tan from training outdoors, the hard planes of his muscles growing more and more defined each day.

Not that either of them hung around the house too much, though. Talia was still going strong with her apprenticeship and Gladio had other duties to attend to at the Citadel. Not to mention he’d taken some time to visit his girlfriend, Cass. Talia had never met her before, and she had no reason to, but she instantly hated her on principle alone.

 _She’s probably really nice,_ Talia tried to remind herself when Gladio waved goodbye one evening to spend the night with Cass. But then her mind would wander to Gladio, to him sharing a bed with someone else, and her heart would break all over again and she had nowhere else to direct her jealousy.

One night, Talia was in her room with her sketchbook open, her pencil flying across the paper. She’d been holed up all day, as it was one of her only days off from being at the studio. She nearly jumped a foot out of her chair when a knock came at the door.

“Come in!”

The door cracked open as Gladio peered inside. “Hey,” he said, shirtless as always, as he opened it fully. “Do you ever take breaks? It’s almost ten.”

Talia’s eyes widened as she snatched her phone up from where it lay facedown on the bedside table. Sure enough, she’d been drawing all day with barely any food breaks. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled and the growl seemed to echo off the walls.

Gladio smirked. “You hungry?”

The pair wandered into the kitchen, the house peculiarly quiet. Talia looked around, the absence of noise, or at least idle footsteps, perturbing her. “Where is everyone?”

“Iris is sleeping over with a friend tonight and Dad is gonna be stuck at the Citadel for a while, some diplomacy thing with His Highness,” Gladio explained. “And Jared is spending some time with his family. So tonight, it’s just us.”

Talia scolded the butterflies careening around in her stomach, telling them to calm the fuck down. But to no avail.

Dinner wasn’t anything special, just some leftovers that Jared had prepared for them that they could heat up. They ate in the living room sitting on the floor by the coffee table, a sitcom running on TV. When they’d finished up with the food, Gladio took the plates and cleaned them off, leaving Talia alone momentarily. But when he returned, she saw that he brought in a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

She smiled at him curiously, eyeing the dark bottle. “Is that your dad’s?”

Gladio shrugged. “Dad doesn’t drink. He buys all these expensive wines just so they can sit in that rack and take up space. Besides,” he grunted slightly as he uncorked it. “He won’t miss one bottle.”

He poured her a glass, pretending to be fancy by swishing it around before handing it to her. Talia laughed and gratefully took it, giving it a slight sniff before taking a sip. It was sweeter than she expected, and didn’t leave a drying aftertaste on her tongue. It went down smooth, and she felt the warmth spread through her chest as it went. Talia didn’t know a thing about fine wine, but she knew, at least, that she liked the stuff that was in that bottle.

“How’d you know to pick this one?” She asked, taking another sip as Gladio filled up his glass.

She could have sworn she saw Gladio blush. “I asked Iggy the other day, actually. He’s got nearly a photographic memory and I asked him which wine from my dad’s collection was the best, and he said it would be this one.”

Talia raised her glass. “To Ignis’ bougie taste.”

After a few to-the-brim glasses of wine later, Gladio and Talia had moved to the couch and were in a laughing fit.

“Remember that time Rion got caught making out with Prompto behind the bleachers at school?” Talia giggled, her cheeks flushed and warm. “Prompto said he’d never been kissed before and so Rion just laid one on him and they didn’t stop until the gym teacher caught them.”

“I remember that,” Gladio wheezed, nearly crying from laughter. “Prompto was so crushed after when Rion said it was a one-time thing. I think he actually caught feelings for him. Your brother is so reckless, going around and breaking hearts.”

“Look who’s talking,” Talia gawked, putting her wine glass down and smacking him teasingly on the arm. “Weren’t you voted prom king or something?”

Gladio put his glass down as well and let his head loll back onto the couch with a groan. “Don’t remind me. That was Noctis’ doing. He was two seconds away from making it a royal decree for people to vote just so he could embarrass me.”

Talia propped an arm up against the backrest and leaned forward to poke at Gladio, who was still shirtless and all too tempting with the wine coursing through her system. “Don’t pretend that people didn’t love you. How could they not? You’re total prom king material. Even more so now.”

Gladio turned his head to look at Talia, their eyes connecting for a second. His gaze lingered long enough that she was beginning to feel self conscious when he sat up a little more, turning to face her as well. “You could have been prom queen of your year, you know.”

Talia rolled her eyes. “False. No one even knew who I was.”

Gladio smiled, almost to himself. “Trust me, a lot of people knew who you were. How could they not? You have a presence when you walk into a room, you know.”

Talia tugged at a handful of curls self consciously, looking down. “Me? The ugly duckling? I doubt it.”

“Hey,” Gladio said sternly, his tone causing her eyes to lock onto his. “You’re not ugly, okay? And besides, in that story, the duckling turns into this beautiful swan and everyone loves her.”

Talia bit her lip, unsure of what to say as she searched Gladio’s eyes. Finally, she cleared her throat, shaking her head slightly. “I was thinking of what to do for your tattoo.”

Gladio quirked an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”

“I know that the men in your family have this tradition of getting tattooed once you become a Royal Shield,” Talia explained, sitting up slightly and trying to focus on sounding professional for two minutes. 

He seemed intrigued.

“I know your dad has a bird of prey tattoo. I’ve been drawing one up so that the body of the bird would be on your back with the wings wrapping around your arms,” she used the tip of her finger to trace imaginary lines along his bicep down to his forearm, her gaze following, “with the head coming down onto your chest,” she finished, her touch grazing over his shoulder and along his left pectoral. 

Talia barely touched him, but it was enough that she could feel the rapid beating of his heart. She looked up and saw Gladio staring at her intently, the heat of his gaze burning into her.

She didn’t know who leaned in first, didn’t know who was the one to take that first step over the line. But his lips were on hers, his hands pulling her into his lap, and all Talia knew was that he tasted like heaven. Her fingers came up to tangle in his hair, tugging at the root until he groaned and tugged her closer. His tongue slid across her lower lip and she let him in, grinding down on the hardening erection that pressed heavily against her clothed centre.

Everything about him was warm. Talia wanted to get lost in his embrace, to dive in and never come up for air. If she could drown in everything that was Gladio, she could die happy. She felt his hands slide from her waist to underneath her ass, and before she knew it, he hoisted her up in his arms, her thighs squeezing his hips, as he brought her up the stairs to his bedroom.

Gladio kicked the door open and then slammed it shut with his foot before pressing Talia’s back against the wall and consuming her in a passionate kiss. His lips trailed down her neck and to her collarbone, and his name escaped her in a sigh. She could have sworn she felt him hesitate for a hair of a second, but just as she thought she’d imagined it, his control returned and he laid her down on the bed.

Clothes were strewn on the floor, barely any space between them as Gladio kissed her for all she was worth. It didn’t take long until they were both completely exposed to one another, Talia pulling away from Gladio so that she could look at him. She looked into his eyes, the amber ones that had bore into her not moments before suddenly cooling. It wasn’t enough to stop her heart from racing, but she couldn’t help but frown, her hand coming to his cheek.

“Gladio?”

He shook his head and leaned down to kiss her neck, his hands on her hips guiding her until she rolled over onto her front. Gladio kissed across her shoulder blades before his palms slid across her ass. He lifted her up by the rear, leaning his weight forward to keep her upper body against the mattress. 

Talia could feel his hardness poking between her legs, and she reached between them to guide him to her entrance. She was soaking wet and ready for him. She’d always been ready, always hoped somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind that this would happen. She loved him so entirely, and now, finally, he was loving her.

She couldn’t describe the feeling of him pushing inside of her other than immense fullness. There was pain from his thickness, but the pain didn’t take long to ebb away into something she could only equate to bliss.

Talia could feel Gladio’s lips and teeth against the point where her neck met her shoulder, his hands coming forward to lace with hers. He thrust his hips once, pinning her down against the bed, earning a mewl of pleasure from her throat.

He chased those sounds, his grunts and warm breath spilling into her ear. He set a rough pace, rolling his hips hard against her ass, the smacking sound of skin on skin and the smell of sex filling the room.

Talia turned her head to try and look at him, her cheeks flushed. “Gladdy…”

At the sound of his name, he drove into her harder, fucking her relentlessly. Talia let out a cry and dropped her head back down, losing herself in the feeling of his cock pounding into her cunt. One of his hands let go of hers and slid underneath her, down her stomach, to the junction of her thighs. His fingers, rough and calloused, rubbed against her clit in unpredictable strokes. Before long, her walls were starting to flutter around him, and she released a broken cry as she came.

Gladio groaned, still fucking her through her tightness, until finally he met his release. He pulled out and Talia felt hot streaks of come painting her ass and lower back. Catching her breath, she sat up and slid off the bed, suddenly feeling…embarrassed. Giving Gladio a quick kiss on the cheek, she scurried off into the bathroom to clean herself off.

Talia closed the door behind her, immediately getting some tissues to erase the evidence of Gladio’s orgasm from her skin. Once it had been mostly wiped off, she used a hand towel to wash the rest away.

She sat on the toilet and relieved herself, remembering Rion’s advice from when he started having sex. She was sore between the legs, but when she wiped herself, there was no blood. Amira had told her that it was likely she wouldn’t bleed during her first time, especially since she was an active child. She finished up and went to wash her hands, looking up to finally meet her reflection in the mirror.

Talia examined herself, angling her jaw one way and then the other. There were small bruises along the tops of her shoulders from Gladio’s insistent bites, but other than that, she didn’t look any different. Other than the soreness, she didn’t feel any different. And this was what she always wanted, wasn’t it?

So why did she feel so incomplete?

She shook the feeling away and pressed her palm to the cool brass knob, twisting it open. Gladio was sitting on the edge of the bed, his boxers back on, head in his hands. His fingers threaded through his hair, seeming to tug at the root, his knuckles white.

“Gladio?”

He didn’t react.

“Gladio, what’s wrong?”

Still nothing.

Talia took a step forward, picking up her shirt and panties off the floor, slipping them both back on. “Gladio, look at me.”

For a long while, he didn’t speak. Until finally, he croaked, “I can’t.”

Talia felt her heart stop. She wanted to approach him, to touch him, anything. But it was as if his aura was made of a thousand swords, blades out and pointed at her. She swallowed past the dryness in her throat, arms folded over her chest. “Why not?”

“This was a mistake.”

He spat out the words like they were poison.

Then, quietly, more to himself than anyone else, “I have a girlfriend, what the fuck was I thinking, how could I be so fucking stupid—”

The air left Talia’s lungs. _That’s what it was._ Tears started to well in her eyes, and she felt her chest start to tighten. “A mistake? That’s what I am to you?”

Gladio still wouldn’t look at her. “I shouldn’t have done that. Shouldn’t have fucking started it, I just…” He sighed, running his hands over his face. “Don’t tell Cass, okay? Let’s just forget this ever happened.”

Talia cursed at how pitiful she sounded when she found her voice again. “You have no idea, do you?”

He didn’t say anything, head still hung low, so she continued.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been in love with you. It’s been years, Gladio. Years of me watching you be with one girl after another, girls who are smarter than me, and prettier than me. I’ve cried over you so many times, and you’ve never known.” Talia wiped the red hot tears from her eyes before they had a chance to spill over. “I’ve been there for you for endless breakups, through thick and thin, and to you, all I am is a mistake.”

“Don’t say that.”

She scoffed. “Say what? That I was a mistake? Because those were your words, not mine.”

“No, that you fucking _love me,”_ Gladio’s voice rose to a roar as he shot up to his feet, rounding on her. “You do not get to hang that over my head right now when I know how much of a piece of shit I am for this, okay? You don’t get to guilt me over this and fuck up my head even more.”

Talia shook her head, her lower lip worried between her teeth. She was trembling, and she knew it. “You’re a selfish man, Gladiolus Amicitia,” she whispered, staring him dead in the eyes. “And if it makes you happy, I fucking hate you for it.”

She flew out of the room, leaving Gladio behind, breathing heavily with the adrenaline from the confrontation coursing through his veins. He heard Talia gathering her things in the next room, heard the sound of her putting on a new pair of jeans and her shoes. He heard her hitched breathing, and then the telltale slam of the front door.

Talia was gone.

—

Rion woke up abruptly to the sound of a fist pounding at the door of his apartment. Though he had a separate bedroom, his walls were paper thin. He grumbled incoherently, one of his palms rubbing along the top of his head against his freshly buzzed hair. With his other he grabbed his phone, turning it on so he could check the time.

Who could that be at two in the morning?

Rion yawned and flicked on the hall light, shuffling his way to the door where the frantic knocking hadn’t ceased. When he finally opened it, his little sister all but collapsed in his arms, tears staining her cheeks. Her breathing was ragged and uneven, and he scooped her up in his arms and closed the door with his foot.

He brought her to the living room and set her down on the couch as she clutched his shirt and sobbed. He just held her as she cried, rubbing small circles against her back like their mother used to do when they were small.

Deep down, Rion knew what happened. But still, he had to ask. Had to make sure.

“Was it Gladio?”

The name sent Talia into another fit, but she managed a nod as Rion handed her a wad of tissues. His arms tightened around his sister, his jaw clenching. His mind was racing a million miles per second, remembering that he had a sparring session scheduled with Gladio the next day.

“I gave him everything, Rion,” Talia whispered, so quiet and so broken that he barely heard it. “I gave him everything and he said I was a mistake.”

Rion felt his heart plummet. “You should get some sleep,” he murmured, petting her hair. “You want to take my bed? I prefer the couch anyway.”

Talia gave the tiniest nod and Rion helped her up, guiding her to his bedroom. He gave her some pyjamas, a pair of his own pants that were two sizes too large and a t-shirt that looked more like a dress on her, but Talia made due. Rion made sure she was settled in bed, asking her if she needed anything else like a hot compress or ibuprofen. She shook her head, burrowing under the covers as if they could swallow her whole.

Rion sighed and shut off the light before closing the door, silently wishing her goodnight.

And as Talia laid there, tears sliding down her cheeks and staining the pillows, she thought back to how she used to want nothing more than to be one of the broken hearts in Gladio’s wake. She’d longed for that chance once. But when she closed her eyes, all she saw was him looking at her with disgust, and his angry words echoing through her head. She felt her heart shattering, porcelain against concrete, the shrapnel and dirt filling her lungs.

It wasn’t worth it.

It wasn’t fucking worth it.


	6. Five

Talia couldn’t get out of bed, and Rion was worried. She was awake, he knew, because he left her a glass of water and some aspirin on the bedside table when he awoke, and it was gone by the time he checked up on her a few hours later. She emerged from his room at one point to go to the bathroom, but went right back to curling in on herself under his duvet right after.

Rion picked up his phone and stepped out into the hallway, dialling his older sister. He kept his voice hushed, knowing that if he spoke too loudly, Talia would be able to hear him.

After a few rings, finally, an answer. _“What do you want, Rion?”_

“Oh wow, so much hostility,” Rion fake-gasped. “Is that any way to speak to your favourite brother?”

 _“You’re my only brother,”_ came Amira’s monotoned reply.

“Which is why you need to be nicer to me,” he retorted. “Look, I have to talk to you about something. It’s about Talia, she—”

Amira’s heavy sigh cut him off. _“Rion, you know that Talia and I aren’t speaking right now. She owes me one metric fuck ton of an apology.”_

“You weren’t exactly being the most supportive person in the world either, you know,” Rion countered, careful not to raise his voice. “And I don’t know what to do right now. She’s here, and she can’t get out of bed. She hasn’t been this bad since…”

 _“…Since Grandma passed away…”_ Amira finished, recalling the memory. He could tell that she was struggling on the other end of the phone, trying to balance her anger with Talia and her need to protect her baby sister at all costs. When their grandmother had passed while Talia was in high school, she completely shut down. Unable to get out of bed, no desire to eat or bathe, just completely becoming a zombie. She barely made it out that time. _“What happened?”_

Rion explained the situation based on what he had figured out on his own, and from what little Talia had told him. He could sense Amira’s fury when he mentioned that it had been Gladio’s doing, knowing full well that she was not fond of his best friend. And if he was being honest, in that moment, neither was he.

 _“She’s not going to want to see me,”_ Amira said finally. _“It’ll only make it worse if I show up unannounced. She’ll be upset that I’m there, and she’ll be upset that you told me. Just…try to take care of her as best as you can, Ri-Ri. Cook her something. Real food, don’t just order something from delivery. And get her to shower and change her clothes.”_

Rion made a mental note of everything she said and thanked her, said his goodbyes before re-entering the apartment. He made his way over to his room, gently knocking on the door.

“Tals? Can I come in?”

There was no response, which he’d been expecting. He shrugged to himself and cracked it open, noting that it was still dark inside. The breathing lump on his bed under the covers told him that Talia was still right where he’d left her. He went over to the side of the bed where her face poked out of the blankets and placed a hand on where he approximated her shoulder to be.

“You have to eat something, Tally,” Rion said quietly. He then dramatically sniffed the air around her head. “You also need to shower. You reek.”

Talia’s eyes were still glazed over, but at least they were open. The whites of her eyes had gone red from her tears, and the bags underneath them told Rion that she wasn’t able to get any sleep. He frowned, and did what any sensible older brother would do. He grabbed the edge of the duvet and yanked it, exposing Talia’s body to the chill of the apartment.

She opened her mouth to protest when Rion tutted her. “Get up. Come on.”

Talia let out a very unbecoming grunt as Rion hauled her to her feet and led her to the bathroom. He started the shower, making sure it was the right temperature, before scurrying out and returning with a change of clothes—a pair of leggings that Talia had left there the last time she slept over, and and a sweater that she was pretty certain belonged to one of his ex-girlfriends.

“Go on, shower. Now, please. I’m gonna make us something to eat, okay? Don’t run up my hot water bill in there.”

Talia reluctantly agreed and Rion shut the door, his footsteps padding towards the kitchen. Talia stripped down and held her palm up towards the stream of water, checking to see how warm it was. She stepped into the tub, sliding the curtain shut behind her, and let the warm rivulets cascade over her.

She still couldn’t get Gladio out of her head. She fucking hated herself for it too—she knew that she needed to get over it, to get over him. But it was so much easier said than done. She could still feel his hands on her body, the way he felt as he pushed into her, the gentleness of his kisses. Those hadn’t been bad, but now the memory was ruined.

Fuck, _everything_ had been ruined.

Talia caught herself crying again, and she angrily turned her back to the shower spray. But not before turning the knob on the hot water until steam started to fill the room, almost hot enough to burn. Maybe it would burn through her, and she wouldn’t have to feel this pain anymore.

When she eventually got out of the shower some time later, her back was raw and sensitive from the scalding stream. She hadn’t even bothered trying to put any leave-in products into her hair, allowing it to just be held back in a messy bun. Talia shuffled over to the kitchen as Rion was putting plates with breakfast foods down onto the small adjacent dining table, even though it was closer to lunch time.

As he set the cutlery down, she looped her arms around his middle in a hug. “Sorry I’m the worst,” she mumbled into his shirt. He immediately pushed her back by her shoulders, his fingers gripping them tightly.

“You’re not,” he said pointedly, giving her the stern older brother look that he’d perfected over the years. “You’re not any of the bad things that are going through your head right now. Okay?”

Talia gave a small smile and a nod. “Okay.”

“Good,” Rion led her over to her seat. “Now, eat up. I have some stuff I have to do this afternoon, so if you want, you can stay here. I would also maybe message Faye in case you need a few more days off.”

Talia speared a chunk of scrambled egg with her fork, looking up at Rion curiously. “What are you up to?”

He responded with a nonchalant shrug. “Just some unfinished business.”

—

Rion drummed his fingers along the strap of his gym bag that crossed his broad chest in a diagonal stripe. He made his way through the halls of the training facility to the locker rooms, the sound of someone already working out their frustrations echoing in the gym.

He shoved his stuff into a locker and changed into his clothes before heading into the main room. Gladio was already there, the wooden version of his greatsword in hand, taking down targets as if they were nothing. Sweat poured from his forehead and stained the fabric of his Crownsguard tank top, the extra stubble along his jaw indicating that he’d neglected to shave that morning.

Rion was taping up his hands when Gladio noticed him. Stiffening, he looked over and gave a small wave.

“Hey, Rion.”

Rion shot him a pointed glare in return. “Amicitia.”

Gladio let out a snort and shook his head. “We on a last name basis or something now?”

Rion tossed the roll of tape aside and flexed his fingers, curling them into his fist. “Enough talk. We have a sparring session, remember? Let’s go.”

Gladio dropped his wooden sword and wrapped his knuckles up as well. After a pregnant pause, he piped, “I’m guessing she told you?”

The two men circled each other, both of them with their fists raised in a defensive stance. Rion’s eyes were locked onto Gladio’s, but he’d trained himself to see the movement of his feet in his peripheral vision. 

A beat of silence passed, and Gladio dropped his hands by just half an inch. “You’re not even going to speak to me anymore, man?”

In the instant that Gladio broke his stance, Rion lunged. Even though he was almost as tall as Gladio, he was a little more agile at hand to hand combat. Gladio excelled with his sword and his shield, but Rion had the body of a skilled martial artist. Out of all the members of the Crownsguard that he’d fought, Ignis was the only one that he’d never been able to beat. Because while Rion had agility, Ignis had that, as well as slippery grace.

Gladio tried to defend himself but Rion managed to land a punch to his gut, holding nothing back. It winded him briefly, but Gladio collected himself and landed a blow of his own in return. 

“You’re a fucking piece of _shit!”_ Rion roared as Gladio blocked one of his fists, attempting to parry his attack. Rion ducked down to dodge it, and Gladio barely evaded an uppercut.

“I know that! You don’t think I fucking know it?” He retorted in a growl, trying to use his body weight to tackle him down. Instead, Rion side-stepped him at the last second and landed another blow to his ribs.

“No, I don’t think you do,” he replied as Gladio got up and took on a defensive stance. “You didn’t see her last night, Gladio. You didn’t see her this morning. You didn’t even try to fucking come after her, or call her, or even see if she made it anywhere safe!” Rion ran at him again, and Gladio had to concentrate on his movements as he deflected his pattern of punches. “She was a fucking girl running through the streets of Insomnia on her own at two in the morning and you didn’t even fucking _check_ to see if she was okay!”

“You are fucking delusional if you think that she would want anything to do with me after last night!” Gladio shouted, grabbing Rion’s fist and managing to find an opening to sock him in the jaw. Rion spat out blood, the corner of his lip split from where Gladio’s knuckle had landed. “I’m sorry I hurt her, okay? It was a fucking _mistake!”_

That word caused Rion’s blood to set on fire. He ran at Gladio and knocked him down onto the ground, raining blow after blow down on him. “A fucking mistake? You didn’t have to hear her crying all night, you just took what you wanted for her and threw her away! She’s loved you for damn near a decade and you took her fucking virginity and _broke_ her! And the sad fucking thing is that she still loves you, and she always will. And all you have to say for yourself is that you’re sorry that you cheated on your girlfriend. You can _burn in hell!”_

Rion climbed off of Gladio, leaving him on the ground with his face battered and bruised. Potions would heal him without issue, but he would be sporting a black eye for at least a week or so.

Rion wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, crimson staining the stressed and peeling tape across his knuckles. Gladio was on the ground groaning, trying to sit up. Rion grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tugged him forward so that he could look him dead in the eyes. He spat out his next words in a low hiss.

“Don’t ever come near my sister again.”

And with that, Rion shoved Gladio back down and stomped out of the gym.

Gladio sat up, his hand coming to touch his cheek just below his left eye. It was swelling, and fast. He didn’t want to know what he looked like—he knew that he probably looked as if his face had been rearranged.

His mind raced, thinking about what Rion said. Her virginity? Had he really…

Gladio’s fist slammed against the ground, angry tears stinging his eyes.

_Fuck._

Lighter steps came into the training facility, and a lilting voice reverberated off the walls. “Did you see Rion just now? He left in an absolute fury without so much as a hello, and—my goodness! Gladio, what happened?”

Gladio shook his head, rising to his feet. Ignis ran over to help him stand, making sure he was steady before he let him go. “Let me go fetch some curatives from the first aid kit.”

Gladio nodded and made his way over to one of the benches that lined the walls, resting his elbows on his knees and allowing his head to drop down. Thoughts raced through his head, things he hadn’t considered. He never thought about Talia running around the city on her own after dark. He figured she would go to Rion’s, but the walk there was at least forty minutes by foot. And it was well known that Rion didn’t live in the most glamorous neighbourhood in Insomnia.

Was he really that selfish that he let his best friend go? He must have been, he figured, if he took her fucking virginity and didn’t even have the gods damned decency to look her in the eye when he did it. He’d hurt her more than he realized, the girl that he was so scared to admit that he loved as more than just a friend, even though deep down he knew she had his heart. And now she would never look at him the same way again.

Gladio felt like absolute shit, his head starting to spin. A cooling sensation swept over him as Ignis broke open a potion, the wounds beginning to mend. The sandy blond took a seat next to him and leaned his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. 

“What happened?”

Gladio couldn’t help the tears of frustration that blurred his vision. “I fucked up, Ignis.” He let out a shaky breath, his eyes squeezing shut. “I really fucked up this time.”


	7. Six

Rion spun around in place on one of the spare artist’s stools at New Relic as Talia concentrated on practicing her straight lines and circles on synthetic skin. Talia had decided that morning that she wanted to go back to the shop. It had only been two days since she’d started staying at Rion’s place, trading off with him so that she could crash on the couch. But two days without practicing made a dramatic enough difference that she lost some of her hand strength as she gripped the machine.

Her brother watched her with avid interest as she pulled a few pretty good parallel lines. “Do you think my skin is too dark to tattoo?”

Talia glanced up at him, quirking her head to the side. “No. Who told you that?”

Rion shrugged. “I read some stuff online somewhere that darker skin is harder to tattoo.”

Talia sighed, removing her foot from the pedal that ran power to the machine and laid it down on her station. “Darker skin isn’t harder to tattoo, but because of the pigmentation, there’s a limit to the range that can be done. Like, warm colours like yellow might not show up great on your skin, but blues and greens will. And you can still get a pretty good range of blacks and greys, too. You’re not even that much darker than me. Tattoo artists that say they can’t tattoo darker skin don’t deserve to call themselves artists at all.”

A crooked grin spread across Rion’s face. “Look at you. Spoken like a true professional.”

Rion had been hanging out with Talia more over the past couple of days because he knew that being around her was better than leaving her to her own devices. Besides, the two were extremely close and Rion had never seen the interior of New Relic before. Watching him gawk at all of the art on the walls and having Talia explain the entire process to him was akin to a kid in a candy store.

Of course, Rion had told her about his fight with Gladio. She hadn’t been happy about it in the slightest, but she also couldn’t bring herself to be upset with Rion either. He’d defended her honour, and given Gladio exactly what he’d deserved. Part of her wanted to text Ignis and see if he was alright, but decided against it. And it had been three days, and she still hadn’t received any word from the man who caused all the pain in the first place. Not an apology, not even a carefully worded text from the other guys. 

The silence was almost worse.

Gladio, she reasoned (and hoped), was ashamed of what happened and too embarrassed to text her. But her other friends? The ones that she’d grown up with, the ones that were her friends just as much as they were Gladio’s, had completely ghosted her. Prompto would usually send her silly pictures of things he’d encounter throughout his day, Ignis would share recipes with her, and Noctis would ask her about her apprenticeship.

But ever since that fateful night, it was as if she didn’t exist. Her mind wandered to thoughts of Gladio telling them not to speak to her anymore, that she was off-limits as a friend because they’d ruined their friendship.

Talia also couldn’t help but wonder if Gladio was happy with his girlfriend. She wondered if he told her about what happened. She wondered if he didn’t. She wondered if he kissed her lips with the same lying ones that took her breath away, wondered if he fucked her face to face instead of keeping her front pinned to the sheets. 

She wondered if he looked her in the eye and said that he loved her.

She wondered if he meant it.

“Tally?” 

Talia snapped out of her thoughts to see Faye standing not two feet away, a look of concern on her face. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

“I was asking you how your practice was going,” she responded slowly before looking down at her synthetic skin pad. “Looking good, kiddo. But how come you’ve got back to this stuff? I told you already, you can tattoo people if you want to. What happened to your not-boyfriend boyfriend?”

Talia felt herself shrink inward and Rion scratched at the back of his head. Faye felt the immediate awkwardness that settled amongst them, and her eyebrows flew up to the top of her forehead.

“Forget I mentioned him. If you want, I can help you set up some appointments with reliable people that I know who would love to get one of your flash pieces.”

Talia forced a smile, though she truly was grateful. “Thanks, Faye. I appreciate it.”

The older woman nodded and walked away as quickly as her feet could take her.

Rion sighed and patted Talia on the shoulder. “You know, you’ve been practicing for like, five hours now. Maybe we should call it quits for today, yeah? Why don’t we head over and grab a drink at the Ivory Crow?”

Talia chuckled. “That old dive bar?”

“The best dive bar in Insomnia,” Rion replied with a wink. “C’mon, Tals. You know you want to. You deserve a night off. I’ll buy!”

She snapped off her gloves and a real smile appeared on her face. “Okay, deal.”

—

“Dude, you’ve been moping for _days,”_ Prompto groaned as he laid down on the large sectional in Noctis’ apartment. Gladio was sitting next to him, and Prompto’s feet were oriented in his direction. Ignis was in the kitchen, doing dishes, and Noctis for once was being helpful and assisted in the post-dinner cleaning. Prompto extended his foot and touched Gladio’s arm with his big toe, which the larger man immediately smacked away.

“Don’t touch me with your crusty feet.”

Prompto sat up in a flash. “Then quit being such a big grumpy baby!” He retorted. Then he added for good measure, “And my feet aren’t crusty!”

“Yes they are!” Noctis piped up from the sink. “You’re leaving foot dandruff all over my floors.”

Prompto let out a whine. “Why are you ganging up on me when we should be talking about how Gladio’s been in a sour mood all week?”

Ignis glanced over at Gladio as he hand-dried one of the ceramic plates. Gladio shot him a look that said _Keep quiet, Specs._ The others didn’t know about the situation between him and Talia, only that he had a sparring match with Rion that went south and that the black eye he was sporting was an ‘accident’.

“Ah, he’s just upset because now he has proof that someone beat him in a match,” Noctis teased. “Let him sulk.”

Ignis seemed to be pondering for a moment. “Or,” he suggested, “why don’t we all go out for a drink tonight? It may do us all some good to be in a social setting where we are able to unwind for a spell.”

“Yeah!” Prompto cheered. “Let’s go to the Ivory Crow! They have lots of drink specials and they’re not that expensive.”

Gladio let out a grunt that seemed to be in the affirmative. “Look at that, Chocobutt has good idea for once.”

Prompto sputtered indignantly, and the others just rolled their eyes and got ready to head out.

—

Talia and Rion got to the bar, which was starting to fill up. They managed to get a booth not too far from the door, ordering some drinks and getting settled.

“So,” Rion began as Talia took the first few sips of her rum and coke. “Faye seems nice.”

“She’s married,” she said pointedly, giving Rion a look that had his cheeks going red.

“Not what I meant!” He declared, dragging his hands over his face. “I just meant that she’s been helping you a lot with your apprenticeship, and it’s good that you have someone like that mentoring you. And also, what the fuck, it’s not like I was going to try and sleep with your boss!”

Talia set her drink down and crossed her arms. “Remember Amy from the book store two years ago?”

“That was different, _she_ asked _me_ out!”

Talia laughed, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in what felt like forever. Hanging out with Rion was always fun, he always had stories to tell and experiences to share. He was the wilder older brother that lived through every possible scenario so that she could observe and decide what path to tread. And, if she were being honest, she wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to be that guide than him.

She was about to retort when the door to the bar swung open, and four familiar faces made their way inside. The words died on her tongue as Gladio’s hulking figure entered last, his eyes scanning the room to see if there were any booths available.

Rion noted Talia’s change in demeanour and tried to grab her attention. “Tals? What’s wrong?”

Gladio’s eyes landed on hers, and he froze in place. Talia felt her throat starting to close, and she hastily started to gather her things. 

“I have to go.”

“Talia,” Rion’s voice was insistent. “What’s going on? What—” He craned his neck around and saw Gladio and the others standing by the doorway. “Oh, by Ifrit’s big flaming—”

Gladio pushed his way past his friends and a few other bar patrons as he made his way towards Talia. She had already slipped on her jacket and grabbed her purse, slamming some gil down on the table. She stood up and seemed to be looking for another exit when Rion suddenly appeared right in front of his face.

“Leave, Amicitia.”

Gladio growled and met his glare with one of his own. “I need to talk to her, Rion. Move.”

“Get the fuck away from my sister before I make you,” Rion threatened, gesturing to Gladio’s blackened eye. “You know that I can and that I will.”

“Hey, woah,” Prompto’s small form squeezed in between the two of them. “What’s going on, guys? Let’s just take a second to breathe here, huh?”

Noctis looked over at Ignis, who seemed more exasperated than anything else. He nudged him in the side with his elbow. “You know anything about this, Specs?”

Ignis feigned ignorance, a gloved finger tapping against his chin. “Haven’t the faintest.”

“You’ve already fucked up her life enough for a lifetime, why not give it a rest, huh?” Rion’s voice raised, reaching over Prompto’s head to shove Gladio’s shoulder.

Gladio grabbed the collar of Rion’s shirt and gave a yank. “I’m trying to fucking fix this, get out of my way so I can apologize!”

Prompto jumped up on his toes, trying to get them to peel apart, but Gladio shoved him away like a pest. If Rion wanted a rematch in the middle of a dive, he was about to grant his wish.

Talia chose that moment of confusion and heightened testosterone to shove past all of them and the onlookers that had gathered around the bar. She hurriedly pushed open the door of the Ivory Crow and took in a deep breath, trying to steady her heartbeat enough so that she wouldn’t burst into a fit of tears.

She was through crying over him.

She heard the door to the bar open again and footsteps barrelling after her as she tried to leave. A large hand closed around her arm and she spun around, immediately yanking herself from Gladio’s grasp.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” she seethed, completely furious with herself at how weak she sounded in that moment. She didn’t want to look into his eyes. She knew that if she did, she’d be a goner. She couldn’t look at him and see the hurt mirrored there. She didn’t want to look into his eyes and see pity.

“Talia,” Gladio pleaded as she kept her eyes glued to the sidewalk. “Please, let me explain—”

“I’m done with you and your explanations,” she croaked, tears choking her throat. “You said all that you needed to say that night. I don’t need to hear anything else.”

“Yes you do,” Gladio protested, reaching out for her again. “Please, Tals, I—”

“Hey! You!”

Talia and Gladio both turned to the source of the person yelling. They hadn’t even noticed that the others had rushed out of the bar to make sure that Talia was okay, and to simultaneously check to ensure that Gladio didn’t do something stupid. 

The man who was yelling had stumbled out of the bar after them, drunk out of his mind, holding a bottle of beer. His steps were heavy and uncoordinated, but he wasn’t directing his shouts at the two of them—he’d turned and rounded on Noctis.

Gladio bristled, his instinct to protect the Prince taking over and placing himself between Noctis and the drunkard. 

“Y-you’re the Prince, ain’t ya?” The man slurred, pointing his beer bottle in Noctis’ direction, alcohol sloshing out of the neck as he went. “It’s your fault that this fuckin’ war started in the first place, innit? You spoiled little—”

“Hey,” Gladio boomed, placing a hand on the man’s chest to keep him at arm’s length. “You’ve had one too many to drink tonight, sir. Don’t do something you’re going to regret.”

The man laughed, a belch interrupting him halfway. “Who’s gonna stop me, _you?”_

Gladio shoved the man away. “I don’t want to hurt a citizen of the Crown City. Don’t make me break my oath, sir.”

The man stumbled backwards, anger flashing in his eyes. Before he could block it, he smashed his beer bottle against the curb and slashed at Gladio’s face, slicing his cheek from his jaw all the way up to his forehead. Gladio let out a pained cry, clutching his face as blood seeped from the wound. Ignis immediately stepped forward and grasped the man’s wrist, twisting it so that the jagged neck of the bottle hit the ground, disarming him.

Talia gasped and ran to Gladio’s side, unable to stop herself. Rion was already on the phone speaking to police, and it wasn’t long before the wailing of sirens filled the air and the telltale flashing lights pulled up to the bar.

Talia placed a hand on Gladio’s arm, the other on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

His left eye was shut and blood was pouring down the that half of his face, so she couldn’t assess the damage to his eye, if there was any. He let out a grunt. “M’fine.”

“You’re not,” she replied flatly. “Come on, let’s get you home while the others deal with that drunken asshole. I’ll fix you up.”

Gladio looked up at her with his good eye. “You will?”

She let out an exasperated sigh, her face neutral. “Yeah, you big idiot. Come on, before you bleed all over your shirt.”

“Talia!” Rion called after her as she led him away from the bar. “Are you sure?”

She turned and gave him a small nod. “I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Rion looked tired, as drained as they came, but returned the gesture. “See you at home.”

And with that, Talia and Gladio disappeared down the street.


	8. Seven

Talia and Gladio moved silently through the illuminated streets of Insomnia towards the Amicitia estate. It was well past midnight and by the time they’d arrived at the front steps, darkness had settled inside the walls of the mansion.

Jared was probably already sleeping, so Gladio fished into his pocket and handed Talia the key to the door. The blood on his face had started to coagulate, leaving a crusted, dark red residue on his palm from when he’d kept pressure on the wound. Not the smartest thing he’d ever done, putting his unclean hand on exposed flesh, he’d thought retrospectively, but it was too late for that now.

Talia took Gladio’s other hand, the warmth of her skin on his causing him to shiver, as she led him upstairs to his room. The door creaked slightly as she nudged it open, trying her best to be quiet as gentle snores could be heard from down the hall.

She flicked on the light and let go of Gladio’s hand, pointing a finger at the bed. “Sit.”

Gladio obeyed, plopping himself down on the edge of the bed. He peered up at Talia, looking at her with his good eye, as she immediately went into his en-suite bathroom to look for the medical supplies she knew that he had on hand.

Rifling through his medicine cabinet, she found isopropyl alcohol, an antibacterial salve, a clean hand towel and some butterfly bandages. Talia made sure to thoroughly wash her hands before collecting everything and turning to bring them over to Gladio.

Her body halted itself as soon as she got to the threshold of his bedroom. Talia couldn’t help but recall what happened the last time she was there—the ecstasy, the heartbreak, the ruin that followed. The air felt thick and her breath caught in her throat when he looked up at her, dried blood staining his cheek. She fought past the urge to run and slowly made her way over to where he sat.

She placed the items on the bed, adjusting herself so that she was sitting cross-legged to Gladio’s left. She took the alcohol and soaked a corner of the towel, exhaling hard through her nose as she surveyed the damage.

It wasn’t too bad. The cut was clean, at the very least—a straight line from the top of his forehead to the edge of his jaw. The glass bottle had thankfully missed his eye, leaving his vision unimpaired. She sent a silent prayer up to the Six.

“This is going to sting,” she warned, bringing the towel up to Gladio’s cheek. He braced himself, but winced anyway as she wiped the dried blood away and made sure to run the cloth over his cut. It had stopped bleeding, the alcohol helping some, and once it had all been cleaned off, she applied the salve and the butterfly bandages to keep the wound sealed. He was lucky that he didn’t need stitches.

When she was done, Talia got up and went to the bathroom to put everything away. As she was placing the items back in his medicine cabinet, her heart leapt into her throat as she saw Gladio following her inside.

He saw the expression on her face and turned to the sink. “I have to wash my hands,” he said quietly, gesturing to the blood on his palm.

“O-oh,” Talia cleared her throat. “Right.”

She squeezed past, trying her best not to touch him as she wormed her way out of the bathroom. She almost got to his bedroom door, her hand on the knob, when—

“Talia, wait.”

She sighed, head hung low. “We don’t have anything to talk about, Gladio.”

Talia felt his presence behind her, could feel the heat emanating off his body as he approached. “Yes, we do.”

She turned to face him, moving a strand of curls from her eyes. “What, are you going to tell me that you’re sorry? That you didn’t mean what you said, that you want us to go back to being friends?”

Talia tried her best to keep her voice down, her arms falling to her sides. She was so tired, completely weary to the marrow of her bones. Her well had run dry. She just wanted to go back to Rion’s place and go to sleep.

Her eyes searched his for a moment, waiting to hear if he had anything other that the script she’d predicted that he could to say to her. When he opened his mouth and closed it a second later, she scoffed. 

“I can’t go back to how things used to be,” she whispered, cursing at how her voice shook as she spoke. “I can’t look at you and pretend that it never happened, Gladio. I just…” She looked down at her feet. “I just can’t.”

After a beat of silence, Gladio finally spoke up. “Then why are you here?”

Her head shot up, and she gazed at him, confused. “What?”

“Why are you here?” He repeated. “Why did you come and help me instead of just leaving me at the Ivory Crow with the guys? Why did you bring me here and patch me up when any of them could have been the ones to do it?”

Talia shook her head in disbelief. “I wasn’t going to let you bleed all over the parking lot, Gladio.”

“But _you_ were the one who brought me back home,” Gladio pushed. “You wanted to be the one to help me, and you knew that meant being here with me, alone. Well, Tals, it’s just us now. You either had something to say to me, or you wanted an apology. So, what is it?”

Talia bit the inside of her cheek, glaring up at him. He was right. What did she want? The satisfaction of telling him to his face after all this time to fuck off, to see him beg for forgiveness, to have one last explosive fight before they left each other’s lives forever?

None of those options sat well with her.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe…maybe I wanted to tell you that I’m tired, Gladio. I’m tired of crying over you, of constantly having you on my mind. Maybe…” 

Her throat started to constrict, the tears that she didn’t think would come beginning to blur her vision.

“Maybe I came here to say goodbye.”

The way Gladio’s face fell made her heart break all over again. “Talia…come on, you don’t mean that.”

He reached out to touch her, and she pulled away as if she’d been burned. “I don’t know how to get past this,” she admitted, her voice so small and soaked in hurt. “I can’t look at you and forget the look on your face when you realized what you did. I don’t want to remember any of it. The good, the bad…I just want to forget it all.”

“Eight years of friendship?” He asked weakly. “You want to throw all of that away?”

“No,” Talia said honestly, a tear leaking from the corner of her eye. She crossed her arms over her chest, curling in on herself. “But I can’t move forward if you’re in my life, Gladio. I love you, and it’s fucking killing me.”

Talia’s breathing hitched and she covered her face with her hands, not wanting him to see her cry. She tried her best to control it, to take in deep breaths, but they broke into stutters as she started to lose control.

She faintly heard a thud, as if something dropped, and then suddenly felt arms wrap around her waist. Talia moved her hands and saw that Gladio had fallen to his knees, and was clutching onto her for dear life. She was short enough that his forehead was pressed against her stomach, and she could have sworn she could feel him shaking.

“Please, Tals, don’t go,” he begged. “Please don’t do this.”

Talia tried to budge, but Gladio wouldn’t let her. “You have a girlfriend, Gladio,” she sniffled. “Someone who loves you, and is devoted to you. You don’t need me.”

“Talia, you’re my best friend,” Gladio pleaded. “Of course I need you.”

She pushed at his shoulders until his grip loosened and she could see his face. His eyes were red and puffy, on the verge of tears. He looked up at her with so much sincerity, hoping and praying that she would change her mind.

He loved her. He needed her.

But he still couldn’t tell her.

Gladio’s voice died in his throat, the words on the tip of his tongue but unwilling to exist in the space between them. Talia’s lower lip wobbled slightly before she worried it between her teeth. She could see it. He knew she could.

She cupped his face and leaned down, pressing a light, chaste kiss to his lips. He tried to kiss her back but she didn’t give him the time, retreating before he could convince her to stay.

“Goodbye, Gladio,” she whispered, pulling away from his grasp. The door shut with a tiny click as she disappeared from the room, and from his life.

Inside, Gladio sat back on his haunches, staring at his hands, wondering how he’d managed to let her go. A salty tear slid down his left cheek, stinging as it came into contact with the gash on his face. But he didn’t feel it. He couldn’t feel anything.

Talia was halfway down the stairs, texting Rion that she would be home soon, when a voice stopped her.

“Talia?”

She turned to see Iris at the top of the stairs in her pyjamas, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Talia turned away and kept on walking until she was on the main floor. “You should go back to sleep,” she called back up to her, shoving her phone in her pocket. “It’s late.”

“Please don’t leave,” Iris said quietly, her voice cutting through the silence of the house. “I know Gladdy messed up, but he’s really sorry.”

Talia pinched the bridge of her nose. “Iris, were you listening to our conversation just now?”

A deep flush spread across Iris’ cheeks. “I didn’t mean to.”

The younger girl made her way down the stairs to where Talia stood, feeling more defeated than ever. Iris was tall for her age, already gaining on Talia at a rate that told her that she was going to sprout even more in the next few years.

Iris looked woeful, tugging at the hem of her shirt. “If you and Gladdy aren’t going to be friends anymore, does that mean we’re not allowed to talk?”

Talia felt the air leave her lungs. She opened her arms and brought Iris in for a hug, rocking her slightly back and forth. She knew how much her friendship meant to her, especially with her mother being gone and not having many female role models she could confide in. The time that Talia had spent living with the Amicitias had really forged their relationship, and Talia saw Iris as a younger sister.

“You can talk to me whenever you want,” she promised. “I just…I need some time. Okay?”

Iris gave her one last squeeze. “Okay.”

Leaving was the hardest thing Talia had ever had to do. Walking out of that house had a looming finality to it, and she knew that she couldn’t go back. Not with things as they were. Leaving Gladio behind meant separating herself from the friends that were his to begin with. She wouldn’t be able to see Noctis, Prompto or Ignis without seeing Gladio. She wouldn’t be able to talk to any of them without hearing pity in their voices, or without knowing they were being purposely aloof to the situation.

Talia’s steps felt heavy as she moved through the darkened streets. She really had never felt more alone in her life. She thought about what had happened, and what she needed in that moment. 

Instead of walking north on the main road to get to Rion’s apartment, she took a left into a suburb, texting her brother that she had something to do before coming back.

Rion was great. He was her rock, the older brother she knew she could always count on when things were tumultuous in her life. But she knew how he would react to anything relating to Gladio—it would be with fire and fury, and that wasn’t something she needed just then.

She needed compassion, understanding, and maybe a hot chocolate.

She needed her sister.

Talia finally arrived at the house, and rang the doorbell. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea, since it was well past midnight and the house was as dark as the Amicitia’s had been, but she prayed to the Six that Amira would look past that indiscretion. 

The hall light turned on, visible through the frosted window at the top of the front door. After a minute, it opened, and Amira stood at the threshold in a robe with a hand on her hip.

Talia let out a heavy exhalation, her eyes watering again. “Can I come in?”

Amira saw the look on her baby sister’s face, the way her shoulders slumped, and the bags that had formed under her tired hazel eyes. Amira tugged on Talia’s arm and brought her in for a hug.

“Come,” she said, leading her into the house. “I’ll make you a hot chocolate and you can tell me all about it.”


	9. Eight

The ceramic mug was hot against Talia’s palms. Amira made her hot chocolate from scratch from a recipe that their parents had taught them, and that Talia had never bothered to memorize. But watching her older sister going through the motions reminded her of a simpler time. Cocoa, sugar, water, salt, milk, and vanilla. The aroma filled her nostrils and soothed her aching heart.

The lights were off in the house except for in the kitchen, where she and Amira were getting settled at the dining room table. Amira had her hair wrapped up in a silk patterned head tie, and Talia could tell that she’d probably just laid down to sleep when she came pounding on the door.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Talia mumbled sheepishly, staring into her mug. “It’s been…a weird night, to say the least.”

Amira took a sip from her mug, exhaling slowly from her nose. “Don’t worry about it, Tals. Rion texted me while I was doing my evening routine. I wasn’t asleep just yet.”

Talia looked up, her lower lip worried between her teeth. “Did I wake up Koren?”

Amira shook her head. “He sleeps like a rock. He’ll be dead to the world until morning.”

The younger of the sisters let out a snort. “I guess that makes me feel a little better.”

Talia’s nails drummed nervously against the ceramic surface, a light tinkling filling the silence between them. Movement caught her eye and she noticed that Amira was doing something similar, running her thumbs vertically along the side of her mug. Neither one of them were ever really able to sit still in moments of anxiety.

“I’m sorry,” they both blurted out at once. Amira dropped her head, a smile on her face.

“You wanna go first?” She asked, looking back up to meet Talia’s gaze.

She nodded, tugging at her hair, playing with her ends nervously. Taking in a deep breath, she straightened her posture and said, “I’m sorry I said those things to you, Mimi. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about my plan sooner, and that everything got kind of sprung on you all at once. I was being selfish and stupid.”

Amira sighed, reaching out to hold onto Talia’s hand. “I wasn’t exactly fair to you either, was I?” She asked, seemingly more to herself than to anyone else. “I should have trusted you. You’re not a child anymore, and you’re capable of making your own decisions. I guess…I just wanted to protect you for as long as I possibly could. I’m sorry for lashing out like that, Tals. You didn’t deserve that.”

Talia felt tears pricking her eyes as her grip on Amira’s hand tightened slightly. “I shouldn’t have said what I did about you not being able to have kids,” she sniffled, barely above a whisper. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Amira’s infertility had always been a sensitive issue. When she and Koren had gotten married three years ago, they’d both agreed on starting a family. But even though they tried, they were never able to conceive. She later found out that she had endometriosis, and it had made it nearly impossible for her to get pregnant.

The day she was diagnosed, Talia had never seen Amira so broken.

It almost caused the end of her marriage. _What kind of woman can’t bear children,_ she asked herself. Koren assured her that she didn’t need to have a biological child in order to be a mother, and that the ability to have a child or not did not define her. She heard his words, but didn’t listen. She started to spiral, and it became almost too much for him to bear.

It took a long time for Amira to move on from it. She went to therapy, and tried to remind herself that there was more to womanhood than pregnancy and being a mother. Hell, she learned that genitalia didn’t define womanhood, either. But then their parents moved away to Altissia for retirement, and she couldn’t help but focus that maternal energy on her little sister. After all, she’d helped raise her, and treated her like one of her own. 

Watching Talia grow up was hard. Their parents had always focused their energy on ensuring that Talia was the perfect child. For a while, it seemed like she was going to be the only one. It wasn’t until she was five that Rion came around, and then Talia came the year after. The age gap was big enough that Amira was the one tasked with babysitting the two of them, to make sure they got their homework done. And how could she ask these things of them without first leading by example?

Amira realized it would be cliche to say that she didn’t want Talia to make the same mistakes that she did. But she saw a lot of potential in her baby sister—she knew that she was creative and intelligent, and that she was a quick learner. But she could also see that she wouldn’t always apply herself, or she wouldn’t try hard enough to do anything other than coast. And as someone who had to work really hard her entire life to just be average, that was a tough pill to swallow.

“It’s okay,” Amira said finally. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

Talia gave a weak nod, and Amira squeezed her hand.

“We both said things in anger,” she continued. “And it’ll take time for us to figure this whole thing out. But…I’ve had a lot of time to think things over. I’ve done some research for myself, talked to some people about it. And…it isn’t my place to decide who you should be. That’s something only you can answer for yourself. I want you to know that I love you, and that I wholeheartedly support you. As long as you’re doing it with integrity and you’re happy, that’s what matters to me.”

Talia started to cry. She couldn’t help it. But they weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of relief. Amira rose from her chair, the legs scraping against the hardwood floor as she got up and went to wrap her in a hug.

“I missed you, Tally,” Amira mumbled, kissing her on the forehead. “The house isn’t the same without you leaving your stuff everywhere and eating all our food.”

Talia choked out a laugh, sniffling loudly. “Ugh, I’m sorry, I got some snot on your robe,” she wailed as she peeled herself away. “That’s so gross. Here, I’ll clean it—”

“It’s okay,” Amira chuckled, reaching for a tissue to wipe off the residue from her shoulder. “And you wonder why I had to mom you so much growing up.”

Talia sighed with a smile, and they both returned to their seats. The younger of the two sisters sipped at her hot chocolate, thankful that they got that part out of the way. But there was still a lingering tension in the room, one that was caused by an outside party.

Talia looked up at Amira. “Rion told you about Gladio, didn’t he?”

Amira sighed, adjusting her head wrap slightly. “Yeah. He called me that first night that you stayed over at his place. He also told me that he gave that asshole a black eye. Not that I approve of violence, but he deserved it.”

Talia stared into her cup, rings of cocoa marking her sips in parallel circles. She suddenly felt ashamed. Embarrassed. “I love him, Mimi.”

Amira couldn’t help but sigh. “I know, Tally.”

She lifted her head, blush dusting her cheeks. “You know?”

“Duh, I’m not dumb,” Amira teased, reaching over to flick Talia in the centre of her forehead. Talia sat back in her chair, an incredulous look on her face. “You’ve been in love with him for as long as I could remember. Probably since the two of you met. I can’t say he’s my favourite person in the world, Six knows that he isn’t, but I could always tell from how you’d talk about him and how much time you spent together that it was something that was out of my control.”

Talia couldn’t help but frown, her hand retreating from Amira’s grip so that she could press her palms against the ceramic once more. It was cool to the touch now, as was the liquid inside. With a wavering voice and an edge of frustration, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why doesn’t he love me, Mimi?”

The eldest Silvan sighed, leaning back in her seat. “I’m gonna say something, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it.”

Her gaze flicked up, hazel meeting hazel. “What?”

“You’re not entitled to his love, Tals,” Amira said finally, her palms face-up in a moment of quiet surrender. “I know you’ve loved him for a long time, and I know that you’re probably thinking that you’ve been there for him for so long, so why not you? But it doesn’t work that way. You never told him how you felt, so how was he supposed to know?”

Talia exhaled shakily. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought…I thought he would be able to tell, I guess.”

Amira’s lips rose in a sad half-smile. “He does love you, Talia. He has a lot of growing up to do—you both do, frankly—but I can see it in his eyes. But I think you have to make a decision based on what’s happened. What would he have to do to earn your forgiveness? Does he even deserve forgiveness at all? And if you do decide to forgive him, how are the two of you going to heal?”

A heavy silence settled between the two of them as Talia really let those words sink in.

“Those are questions that only you can answer,” Amira said, gathering the mugs and dumping the excess liquid in the sink before giving them a quick rinse. “And I don’t think you’ll be able to answer those questions tonight.”

She made her way over to where Talia sat, still as a statue, and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “Come. I changed your sheets, your bed is ready upstairs.”

Talia rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around Amira’s middle, clutching onto her as she held her tears at bay. “I love you, Mimi.”

“Love you too, Tally,” she whispered back, stroking her hair. “Come on. It’s late.”

Amira really had left everything in Talia’s room just as it was, aside from the clean linens, as if she knew that she would be coming back before long. Amira wished her goodnight and Talia sat on the edge of her bed. She pulled her phone from her purse, checking her unread texts. 

None from Gladio. A part of her had hoped he would have sent her something, an apology, anything. But he wasn’t great with technology, and he definitely wasn’t great with expressing emotions. Gladio was the kind of person to say it to your face, or not at all. So maybe it really was the end.

Was that what she wanted?

She’d received a text from Ignis, just a short one that read: _Regardless of the outcome of tonight, know that you are loved._

Another in her inbox was from Rion, from about an hour prior: _Call me as soon as you get a minute alone._

Talia checked the time. It was almost two in the morning, but knowing Rion, he wouldn’t sleep a wink until he heard from her. So she pressed his name on her phone’s contact list and held the device to her ear.

 _“Hey,”_ he greeted her on the first ring, his voice gentle and quiet. _“Are you okay?”_

“Yeah,” she whispered in reply, not wanting to be too loud. “I’m back at Mimi’s place. She and I talked and smoothed things over. I can come by and grab my stuff from your place tomorrow, maybe, before I head over to the shop.”

 _“Uh,”_ Rion suddenly sounded nervous, as if he was hiding something. _“Maybe…I can come to the shop and drop your stuff off for you.”_

Talia was immediately suspicious, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Who’s in your bed with you right now?”

 _“No one!”_ Rion responded in a tone that was too high-pitched to be casual, and too loud for whoever was actually by his side. She heard stirring on the other end of the phone, and a male voice grumbling.

_“Rion, why are you on the phone? Who are you talking to?”_

Talia’s jaw dropped. She could practically see the disheveled blond hair and the dusting of freckles across his confused, blushing face. “Holy. Shit. Is that—”

 _“Mind your business!”_ Rion hissed, before placing his hand over the phone. It was muffled, but Talia still heard him say, _“Go back to sleep, babe.”_

Talia was losing her mind, her free arm flailing silently over her head. “Babe?! He’s _babe_ now?!”

Rion groaned from his end. _“Can we please talk tomorrow?”_

Talia huffed. “Fine. But just so you know, you owe be one metric fuck ton of an explanation.”

 _“Fine, because you already gave Amira your metric fuck ton of an apology,”_ he grumbled, and she could tell he was rolling his eyes. _“As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Maybe we can get coffee.”_

“Coffee sounds good,” Talia agreed. “Goodnight, Ri-Ri.” Then, she couldn’t help herself. “Say goodnight to Prompto for me, too.”

She hung up the phone before Rion could sputter out curses at her.

Settling into bed, Talia had to admit that it was nice to be back home, in the familiar house that she’d lived in since her parents sold their family home and left for Altissia. Her room was safe, her room was sacred. Her own art adorned the walls, along with photos of her and her friends over the years.

She glanced at a picture of her, Gladio and Rion together at her thirteenth birthday party. She’d just gotten her braces on, and it felt like the end of the world. But Rion had given her a bouquet of her favourite flowers with a note quoting her favourite poem, and Gladio had sworn to her that if anyone even so much as said a peep about her teeth, he would make sure they walked away with none at all. The moment had her laughing, and Prompto snapped the perfect photo.

Sighing, she turned away from it and pulled the covers up to her chin. Talia didn’t want to think about him anymore. It was a waste of time, she realized, being upset over something that was out of her control. She’d said what she’d needed to say, and she needed to focus back on her apprenticeship and starting her career on the right foot.

Focus, she told herself, as her mind started to sway. She closed her eyes, repeating the word in her head until she fell asleep.

_Focus._

_Focus._

_Focus._


	10. Nine

A week passed. Talia started tattooing her practice clients at the shop, under Faye’s supervision. Rion would drop by every now and then with Ebony and lunch, and she started getting into the groove of daily life as a tattoo artist. She was constantly drawing up designs and actually getting to put her artistic abilities to good use.

At least something was going right in her life.

Faye noticed that it was almost as if Talia had blinders on. She didn’t talk much about anything outside of tattooing, never sat down with Faye and chatted with her about any new gossip like she used to. She was either drawing or tattooing, staying way past closing in order to hone her abilities. Her skill was developing at an alarming rate with her ability to self-correct, but Faye couldn’t help but notice the solemn dimming of her young friend’s eyes.

One day, when she didn’t have a client, Talia was using her time to draft a new flash sheet at her station towards the back. The door of the shop opened, the bell’s chimes signalling an incoming customer. Talia didn’t bother lifting her head—Faye was usually the one who greeted people coming into the shop.

So when Faye came over and tapped Talia on the top of the head, needless to say, she was a little surprised.

“Someone’s here to see you,” Faye stated, an eyebrow raised. Her hands were on her hips, her foot tapping in amusement against the tiled floor.

Talia’s eyes narrowed. “But I don’t have anyone scheduled for today.”

Faye gave a shrug, motioning for Talia to get up. She rose to her feet, following her mentor to the front of the studio. There was a girl, about her age, with beautiful alabaster skin and long auburn hair that fell in perfectly straight to her lower back. The girl turned, flashing Talia a smile that showed off her perfectly white and straight teeth, her blue eyes twinkling. She couldn’t help but think that this girl—physically, at least—was her total opposite.

Talia instinctively picked at her hair with her hands to make it bigger. It was reminiscent of a cat puffing up to ward off enemies.

“Hi, you must be Talia,” the girl said, her voice sweet and lyrical. She didn’t sound flippant or facetious. Her smile was warm, and she almost looked shy.

“Uh, yeah, hi,” she responded awkwardly, hazarding a glance at Faye. The elder woman merely shrugged. Turning back to the girl, Talia had to ask, “Sorry, but who are you?”

“Oh! How rude of me,” she apologized, holding out her hand. “I’m Cass.”

Talia was almost certain that all the colour had drained from her face. Her eyes widened, and her palms felt immediately clammy. Faye looked between the two women, confusion streaked across her features. But then finally, realization.

“Oh,” she declared, long and drawn out. “You’re the girlfriend, ain’t ya?”

 _Shit, she’s really pretty,_ Talia grumbled internally. Cass’ smile widened, but in an awkward manner, her eyes zipping between the other two before her eyes landed on Talia.

“Uh, thanks?”

Talia turned to Faye. “Did I say that out loud?”

Faye gave a nod, her eyes closing dramatically. “Sure did, sport.”

She was about to retort when Cass’ voice cut her off. “Talia, can we talk?” The slim brunette cleared her throat slightly. “In private?”

Faye leaned against the counter and gave Cass a once over. Deeming her nonthreatening, she tapped her hand against its surface and stood up straight. “You ladies can use my office. Follow me.”

The colour still hadn’t returned to Talia’s face. She mindlessly ambled after Faye, hearing Cass’ soft footsteps trailing not far behind. She was lagged behind, admiring the art on the walls that Talia had now grown used to, only snapping back to reality when Faye herded them into her office as she remained at the doorway.

“I have a boxcutter in the top left drawer of my desk,” Faye whispered to Talia, loud enough for Cass to hear. “And if you need to clean up after, I know a guy.”

“Thank you, Faye,” Talia replied loudly, unceremoniously shoving her out of the room and slamming the door shut.

Then it was just the two of them. 

She turned to face Cass, who was sitting where Talia had when she and Faye had first discussed her apprenticeship. Talia moved around the desk to sit in Faye’s chair, reminding herself that stabbing this girl with the boxcutter that was just an arm’s length away would get her in a world of trouble and would not be the politest option in her wheelhouse.

“I can’t believe this is my first time meeting you,” Cass smiled, her voice wavering slightly with nervousness. Talia observed as she played with the ends of her hair subconsciously. “Gladio talks about you all the time.”

Talia leaned back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest. “That’s nice.”

Cass’ smile faltered, and suddenly she looked so small and so weary. “Gladio told me…about what happened.”

Talia tensed, but tried not to let it show on her face. Again, she repeated, “That’s nice.”

Cass let out a frustrated huff. “Look,” she leaned forward, placing a hand on the desk. “I didn’t come here to cause you any trouble, okay? I just…I wanted to talk to you about what happened.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Talia replied flatly. “We slept together. It was a mistake. He said so himself. I’m over it.”

She wasn’t over it.

“You’re not over it,” Cass said with a knowing smile. 

_Damn her._

“When Gladio told me what happened between you two, I…I won’t lie, I was hurt,” Cass admitted. “Gladio and I had been together at that point for what…almost a year? And to know that he betrayed my trust like that, and with someone who I could never compete with—”

“Woah, woah—” Talia blurted out. “You think _you_ couldn’t compete with me? Have you _seen_ you?”

Cass acknowledged the odd compliment with a smile but it dropped just as quickly. “We broke up.”

Talia thought the floor was going to collapse underneath her. “You…what?”

“It was mutual,” Cass clarified. “When he came to me and told me all of this, I appreciated his honesty, but…the truth is, I think that both of us clocked out of the relationship a long time ago. We both got comfortable with having someone, but never really stopped to think about whether or not we really loved each other.”

She was quiet for a second, a pregnant pause between the two of them.

“I did love him,” she confessed. “And he told me that he loved me, too. But I think I always knew that it wasn’t real. Or at least, it wasn’t with his whole heart.”

Talia didn’t know what to say. She unfolded her arms from the front of her chest and sat limply in her chair.

“When we started dating,” Cass said, “I think that he thought it was only going to be a few hookups and then that was going to be it. That’s why it took so long for him to introduce me to his friends, and why I never met you. I asked him a few times, actually, why you and I had never met, since he spoke of you so often. He never really was able to give me a real answer. But then a few weeks somehow turned into a few months, and then nearly a year later, here we are. And what do we have to show for it?”

She gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. 

“Gladio told me that after the two of you had sex, he said it was a mistake. And I asked him flat out if he thought it was a mistake because he cheated on me, or if it was a mistake because he was already in a relationship when it happened.”

Talia’s mouth felt dry. “What did he say?”

Cass offered up a half-smile. “What do you think he said?”

Talia couldn’t hold her gaze, her freckled cheeks flushing as she tried in vain to hide behind her hair. Cass couldn’t help but laugh.

“We both decided it was right to end the relationship. I don’t hold any ill will against him. I just…I realized after speaking to him, and crying my eyes out over him, that I just…couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who’s already in love with someone else.”

Talia hazarded a glance back at the petite brunette. “He…loves me?”

“Yeah, dummy,” Cass grinned, propping her chin up against her hand. “He really does. When the two of you stopped talking after that night, he totally changed. I’d never seen him so completely broken before. He was just starting to kind of be okay again, and then that night at the bar happened.”

Talia bit the inside of her lip. “How’s his face?”

“Scarred,” she noted. “But it’s okay. He still looks handsome. Like, in a rugged sort of way.”

Talia couldn’t help but smile a little at that.

“I just wanted to come and talk to you because I wanted you to know that I don’t want us to be strangers,” Cass said finally. “I think in the back of my mind, I knew that Gladio always loved you, and that our time together had an expiration date. I’m sorry that it came along with so much drama, but I don’t want it to be a case of a lover scorned, y’know? I’ll find someone else someday, and fall in love with someone who can love me the way Gladio loves you.”

“What he did to you wasn’t right,” Talia stated. “I don’t want you to think I’m going to forgive him for that.”

“I know,” Cass shrugged. “But at this point, with how everything has gone down, I think he’s suffered enough. I know that he really misses you, and that he wants to apologize. Maybe let him?”

Talia played with the hem of her shirt. “Maybe.”

They sat in silence together for a minute or so, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as Talia had expected it to be. The air felt almost lighter, and after a second she let out a sigh.

“I really wanted to hate you, you know that?”

Cass laughed, a genuine one that had her shoulders shaking. “It’s okay. I wanted to hate you too, but I just didn’t have it in me.” She gestured to Faye’s desk, where the boxcutter was sitting in the lefthand drawer. “So you’re not gonna use that on me?”

Talia shook her head, offering up an apologetic smile. “Nah. But I really am sorry about everything. And maybe…I could treat you to a coffee, sometime? For all of the trouble I’ve caused you?”

Cass stood up and rounded the desk, tugging Talia in to a warm hug. “I’d love that.” After she pulled away, she added, “And you didn’t cause me any trouble, Talia. You just made me realize that I need to find someone who can love me wholeheartedly. I thought it could be Gladio, but I know now that he’s already been spoken for.”

Faye was casually flipping through a tattoo magazine at the front desk, her fingers drumming along the countertop as she waited for something. Anything. Screaming? Crying? Hysterical laughter? She wasn’t sure what to expect, but when the two women emerged from her office, all smiles and hugs, it certainly wasn’t _that._

 _Huh,_ Faye thought. _Maybe everything will work out after all.  
_


	11. Ten

That night, Talia laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. She thought about what had happened, and what Cass had said.

_I know that he really misses you, and that he wants to apologize. Maybe let him?_

Talia rolled onto her side, staring at her digital alarm clock. It was already one in the morning, and she could hear Koren’s snores from down the hall. How Amira was able to stand it, she would never know. But regardless, she couldn’t sleep—she kept on thinking about Cass’ words, and about the man that she loved, and missed so desperately.

She grabbed her phone off the night stand, scrolling through her contacts. Talia was about to press on Gladio’s name when suddenly her phone started to ring. 

_Speak of the devil._

Not wanting the sound to wake up her sister and her brother-in-law, she hastily answered it. “Hello?”

 _“Oh, uh…”_ Gladio’s voice filled her ears, and she was amazed at how two dumb syllables were enough to make her heart leap. He seemed surprised that she had answered at all, let alone on the first ring. _“Hi.”_

Talia couldn’t help but bite back a smile. “Hey.”

 _“Look, I’m…”_ Gladio exhaled hard through his nose, unsure of what to say. _“Look outside your window.”_

Talia rose from her bed, phone against her ear, and made her way over to her windowsill. She turned on her bedside lamp before pulling the curtains back. Gladio was there, standing on her lawn, looking up at her with a hopeful smile. He waved at her, a hesitant one that had her heart racing with anticipation.

“Hold on.”

She hung up the phone and tiptoed quietly downstairs, careful to avoid the parts of the steps that creaked, and opened the front door. She ushered Gladio inside, making sure he was as quiet as his hulking figure would allow, before leading him upstairs to her room.

Once he was inside, Talia gently shut the door. She pinched her eyes shut and took in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart before turning around to face Gladio for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

It hadn’t been that long. But he looked different.

The cut over his cheek and forehead had scarred, just like Cass had said. Talia assumed that Gladio had applied a potion to it to expedite the healing process. He’d shaved the sides of his head recently, making the hair up top and along the back look even longer than it had before. And had he gotten taller?

No, that was probably just her imagination. In her tiny bedroom, he’d always looked gargantuan. But as she looked into his eyes, the warm amber welcomed her back. That, at least, hadn’t changed.

“Hi,” he said finally, at the end of a heavy breath.

Talia absently tugged at the hem of her night shirt. “Hi.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, the silence between them thick and uncomfortable. His skin looked golden in the warm incandescent light of the room, just bright enough that she could see the darkness under his eyes, and the grief that weighed down his bones.

“It’s good to see you,” he offered awkwardly, trying and failing to seem nonchalant. 

Talia tilted her head at him, her arms moving to cross over her chest in a defensive stance. _He came all the way here, at one in the morning, and he’s making small talk?_

Gladio let out a frustrated sigh, his shoulders dropping in defeat. “Look, Tals…I’m not good at this stuff. Talking about my feelings, or whatever…but I just…I can’t…”

His eyes met hers, and she was shocked to see that they were glazed over with tears.

“I really miss you.”

Talia didn’t know what to say, didn’t want to interrupt him as he struggled to find his words. So she just let him speak.

His gaze wandered around the room as he tried to sort out his thoughts, before they landed on the framed photo of himself, Talia and Rion at her bedside. He smiled. “I remember that day. You just got your braces, and you never wanted to smile because you didn’t want the metal to show.”

Talia blushed, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “Yeah,” she recalled. “It felt like the end of the world.”

“I remember the day you came back from the dentist, you were so upset and in so much pain. And it was your birthday a few days later. So I went to the Royal florist, and asked if I could buy a bouquet of your favourite flowers, pink peonies. It took all of the money that I had saved up to that point, but it was worth it.” Gladio scratched at the back of his head, looking away. “I had Rion give them to you because I didn’t want you to know it was me. But it didn’t matter. The look on your face when he handed them to you is something I’ll never forget.”

Talia’s hands dropped to her sides, her mouth slightly agape. “You were the one who bought me those flowers?”

“Well, yeah,” he smiled, his voice going soft. “I left you that note. _There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in._ One of your favourite lines of poetry that you used to recite all the time. I thought maybe you would know it was me from that, but…you never said anything. So neither did I.”

She was having a hard time finding her voice. When she finally managed to speak, it was barely above a whisper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gladio took a step towards her. “I would have done anything to see you smile, Tals. And after all this time, that hasn’t changed. I always thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever laid eyes on, and that I wasn’t good enough for you.” His fists clenched and unclenched, a telltale sign of his discomfort and anxiety. “Fuck, I was right. I know that I fucked up. I know that I hurt you, and that I tried to lie to myself and say that everything that happened was a mistake.”

He shook his head, his eyes squeezed shut in disappointment.

“It wasn’t a mistake being with you, Talia. You’re my best friend, and you mean everything to me. You always have. Ever since you walked into that classroom to pick up Rion’s homework when he was sick, and I walked you home. And not having you in my life has been killing me.”

Gladio looked up, amber connecting with hazel. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he got down to his knees again, like he had the night he’d gotten that scar. But this time, he didn’t touch her.

“I’m so, so sorry, Tals,” he whispered, voice shaking, shame lacing his words. “What I did was wrong. Cass and I are over, and when I said it was a mistake, I didn’t stop to think about how those words would affect you. I was selfish and stupid. I know that I’ve hurt you, and I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I love you, and I don’t want another second to pass by where you don’t know it.”

He said it. He finally said it. His eyes searched hers, and he saw her lower lip start to wobble. Her breathing hitched before she started to cry, burying her face in her hands.

Gladio rose to his feet, immediately circling his arms around her tiny frame. She didn’t push him away—instead, she leaned into his touch, clinging onto his shirt as she shook.

Faintly, he heard her say, “I really missed you too, you big dummy.”

He pulled away for just a second, reaching up to cup her face in his hands. The calloused pad of his thumbs wiped away her tears on either side, and it broke his heart to see the collected dew clinging to her eyelashes. Gladio leaned down and pressed kisses against her closed lids, following the path her tears had streaked on either cheek, and then to the corner of her mouth. He whispered apologies between each one, desperate and pleading.

Talia’s breathing nearly stopped as his lips hovered over hers, almost touching, a ghost of a kiss. That electricity was back, crackling powerfully between them as their hearts pounded against their ribcages in perfect unison.

She rose up on the tips of her toes, her arms sliding around his neck, before she closed the distance and her lips finally met his. Gladio shifted to hold her close against the length of his body, trying to convey all of his unspoken emotions and his endless apologies with his embrace. Talia sighed into the kiss, drunk on the feeling of his skin against hers for the first time in far too long.

His tongue traced her bottom lip, and she met him in a gentle caress. The kiss was slow and deep, an outpouring of love from each of them to the other, like the first sip of water after nearly dying of thirst.

Talia pulled away first, glancing up at Gladio, one of her hands pressing against his chest. “I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

She thought he would look disappointed, or that he would protest. But his eyes were open and honest, and his expression didn’t change or falter in the slightest.

“I’m not asking you to,” Gladio promised. “I’m not here for that.”

Talia let out a shaky breath of relief, and leaned her head against his chest. “Will you stay, though?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Of course.”

Talia sniffled, burying her face into his shirt. He smelled like sandalwood and spice, and the steadied her heartbeat as it filled her lungs. She propped her chin against his sternum and looked up at him with doe eyes. “Would you be able to do me a favour and grab me a glass of water from the kitchen while I hunt for something for you to change into?”

He chuckled, and pecked her on the nose. “Sure.”

Gladio stole another kiss, one that had her smiling and mended his weary heart. He quietly disappeared from the room and crept down the stairs. He got two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with cold tap water. He turned to leave when his soul almost jumped out of his body.

Amira was standing at the doorway, her hair perfectly wrapped in a red and gold silk scarf. Gladio sent up a silent prayer to the six that he didn’t drop the glasses and shatter them all over the floor.

“Hello, Gladiolus.”

He gulped. “Uh…hi, Amira.”

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “I’m guessing you apologized to my sister.”

He gave a nod.

Amira sighed, coming to place a hand on his shoulder. Gladio eyed her cautiously. “Talia’s happiness is the most important thing to me. I hope you understand that. And whether it’s against her better judgment or not, she loves you, and you make her happy. And I respect that.” But then, her grip on him tightened, and Gladio went a little pale. “But if you so much as make her shed one more tear over you, I will fucking end you. And then when I’m done, Rion will have his turn. Got it?”

Gladio audibly gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good,” she said sweetly with a smile. “Goodnight, Gladiolus.”

“Goodnight,” he said in a hurry, rushing back upstairs towards Talia’s room.

She heard him coming back and opened the door, knowing his hands were occupied. She noted the look on his face and raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Your sister is scary,” he said flatly, handing her a glass. “Remind me not to get her mad. Ever.”

Talia laughed and handed some of Rion’s looser clothes that he’d abandoned there so that he could at least have some makeshift pyjamas. Talia turned her back to him as he changed, and when he was done, he slid under the covers and beckoned her over.

Gladio wrapped his arms around her, and she nestled against his chest. She could hear his heart beating against her ear, calm and steady. She felt herself starting to fall asleep when Gladio’s chest rumbled, and she realized he was softly quoting a poem.

_“I am speechless because you have fallen beside me, because your eyelashes are the spines of tiny fragile animals. I dread the time when your mouth begins to call me hunter. When you call me close to tell me your body is not beautiful, I want to summon the eyes and hidden mouths of stone and light and water to testify against you.”_

Talia closed her eyes, allowing the sound of his soothing voice to wash over her.

_“I want them to surrender before you, the trembling rhyme of your face, from their deep caskets. When you call me close to tell me your body is not beautiful, I want my body and my hands to be pools for your looking and laughing.”_

Talia hummed, holding him closer as sleep took her over. “I love you, Gladio.”

She felt him kiss the crown of her head, felt his truth with every uttered syllable. “I love you too, Talia.”

And within the circle of his arms, she fell into a deep slumber. She dreamt of meadows with pink peonies, raucous laughter, of hawks and eagles flying overhead. She dreamt of Gladio, of his hands, of his lips on her skin, and whispered promises never to be broken.

Talia smiled in her sleep, knowing with all her heart that it wasn’t just a dream anymore. It would take time for her to fully forgive him, and it would take time for her to heal. But at the very least, now, she had him by her side.


	12. Chapter 12

A few months went by, the air growing thicker with humidity and the arrival of summer. The sun beamed down on Insomnia—days stretched out that were full of endless opportunity, along with nights that were full of music, laughter, and the gentle hum of wildlife. Summer in Insomnia was one to behold.

Talia was cleaning up her station at New Relic when Gladio walked in, wiping at the sheen sweat from his brow. His sleeveless shirt was pulled tight against his torso, leaving barely anything to the imagination. Talia glanced up and bit back a smile as he waved and made his way over.

“Hi, babe,” he greeted, bending down to capture her lips in a kiss. “You almost ready to go? The truck is all packed, we just have to grab a few more groceries before heading out.”

“Yeah, I just have to put a few more things away and then I’ll be ready to go,” she promised, tossing her used gloves in the trash. It was Talia’s birthday in a few days, and Gladio was taking her on a weekend long camping trip. And as much as she loved tattooing, and she was making leaps and bounds with her practice clients, she needed a break. “How’s your tattoo healing, by the way?”

Gladio extended his arms so that she could take a look at the results of their first session. Talia had gotten the line work finished on Gladio’s bird of prey, the session lasting nearly six hours. “Pretty good. I think it’s mostly healed now.”

Talia nodded, pleased with how the lines had settled. “A few more weeks, and then we can move on to shading.” She rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Gladio’s middle, tugging the collar of his tank top down so that she could look at the bird’s face. “You should have let me place it so that your nipple was being bitten by the beak. It would have made for a better tattoo.”

Gladio groaned with a smile, rolling his eyes. “Do you know how much it hurt when you went over that area? I swear, I felt my soul leaving my body.”

She kissed his jawline and patted his cheek. “C’mon, big guy. You’ve had worse battle wounds.”

He grumbled, but brought his arms around her waist to hold her against the hard planes of his torso. “You get your nipple tattooed, and then you can get back to me.”

“Don’t really have a desire to get them tattooed,” Talia responded nonchalantly. “But pierced, on the other hand—”

Gladio’s face went bright red, and Talia couldn’t help but laugh. They settled into a silence that was thick with tension that thankfully, Faye broke the second she made her presence known. Talia and Gladio hadn’t had sex since that first time so long ago, and Gladio had respected Talia’s need to stave off. She said she wasn’t ready, and he had never pushed her, never tried anything beyond what she was ready for.

She could see that he was growing increasingly tense, especially over the last little while, unable to blow off any steam aside from training extra hard to distract himself from his baser instincts. But with this camping trip, the one that she had actually suggested, they both knew what it meant. An entire weekend alone together, under the stars, just the two of them.

Talia was ready.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Faye drawled, clapping them both on the backs. “You getting ready to head out soon?”

“Yeah,” Talia confirmed, peeling herself away from Gladio. “Just packing up now.”

“Well, don’t run off too quickly,” she winked. “There may be a little surprise for you.”

Talia’s brow furrowed in confusion. “A surprise? What—”

Just then, Rion rounded the corner with Amira in tow, holding an ornately decorated cake that had obviously been made by Ignis. The two siblings cheered as Talia’s smile grew.

“A cake? But my birthday isn’t for a few more days.”

Faye came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Read the message on the cake, hon. It isn’t for your birthday.”

Rion came over and set the cake down so that Talia could read the elegant script written in frosting. It said: Congrats on your graduation!

Talia whipped around and stared wide-eyed at Faye. “Shut up.”

Faye nudged her in turn with her elbow. “You shut up.”

She threw her arms around her mentor in a tight hug, thanking her over and over as happy tears leaked from her eyes. “Thank you so much, I won’t let you down, thank you for this opportunity, thank you, thank you—”

“Hey, hey,” Faye beamed, holding Talia at arm’s length. “Don’t thank me, alright? You were the one who took that first step, and you were the one who put in the hours to get to where you are now. You did all of that, not me. So let’s celebrate you today, huh?”

Talia hastily wiped her eyes as Gladio came over and kissed her on the cheek. “Okay.”

“And when you get back,” Amira came over to bump Talia with her nip. “I’d like to do a consultation with you.”

She blinked dumbly, not processing the information. “You want a what?”

“A consultation,” Amira repeated, her grin widening. “For a tattoo.”

“Shut _up!”_ Talia reached over and smacked her older sister on the arm, her eyes wide and mouth agape. “Really? You want one? For real?”

“Actually,” Rion stepped forward, reaching over to tug playfully on one of Talia’s curls. “We wanted to see how you felt about getting matching sibling tattoos.”

Talia full out burst into tears. She was so overwhelmed by all the love and support, and she raised the collar of her shirt to hide her reddened face. She felt arms all around her, holding her steady, grounding her in the moment. She’d never felt more safe or more sure about her life’s true path.

Everyone pulled away to give her some air, and Faye handed her a tissue so she could wipe her freckled nose.

“We’ll talk when you get back,” Amira promised, before turning her attention to the cake. “Now, let’s dig in. And quickly. Gladio looks like he’s ready to whisk you away any second.”

—

The drive to the campsite was quiet and comfortable. Music played softly from the speakers, an indie band that Talia had heard of while working at New Relic. Gladio held her hand from across the centre console, idly stroking the back of her palm with his thumb.

It didn’t take long to set up camp at all—Gladio handled the tent and the bedrolls while Talia got out the lawn chairs and set up the stove and started on dinner. There were a few stolen kisses and some lingering glances, but they didn’t want to rush. They had all weekend together.

Soon, the night grew dark and the sky became illuminated with millions of stars. Gladio plopped down on his lawn chair after helping clean up from their meal and beckoned Talia over. He tugged her down onto his lap and they stared up at the constellations, mesmerized by the twinkling lights spread out overhead.

Talia sighed, nuzzling into Gladio a little more. “I can’t remember the last time I got out of the city.”

“Me neither,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Talia’s shoulder through her sweater. “First trip of many this season, hopefully.”

Talia nodded in agreement, her eyes fixated on the night sky. Gladio watched her, saw the light from the moon as it reflected off her eyes, her skin, her hair. How the freckles along her cheeks and nose mimicked the patterns drawn out across the vastest blue. She was like a goddess, the essence of earth and sky cradled in his arms. He couldn’t bring himself to look away.

Talia turned to him, blushing. “What?”

“Nothin’,” he responded with a lazy smile. Then, a thought seemed to come to him. “Oh, wait, I have a gift for you.”

He reached down into his pack, Talia still in his lap, and fished out a box. It was about four inches in both length and width, and two inches tall. She eyed him curiously before unwrapping it, testing its weight in her hand. When she finally opened it, she gasped.

It was a tattoo machine.

The newest model from the company she’d been eyeing for weeks. And it was a custom shade of pink, just like the colour of her favourite flowers, and the same as the bouquet Gladio had given her so many years ago.

“Faye helped me get it for you,” Gladio explained as Talia’s mouth opened and closed. “We rush ordered it, which took some negotiating since it was a custom colour, and I almost wasn’t sure that it was going to come in time, but— _mmph—!”_

Talia cut him off with a kiss. Keeping the machine in her lap, she tangled her fingers through his hair and kissed him breathless, his arms tightening around her to keep her close.

When she finally pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Gladio thumbed them away before they could drop from her lash line. “Happy birthday, babe.”

She kissed him again, and this time, there was a heat behind her movements that Gladio hadn’t sensed before. Her tongue traced his lower lip and he welcomed her with unmatched enthusiasm as she ground her ass against the growing bulge in his jeans.

“You got another gift for me down there?” She asked with a cheeky grin.

Gladio growled in response, his grip tightening ever so slightly. “Don’t tease me, Tals.”

She adjusted herself so that she was straddling his lap, toying with the strands of hair at the back of his head. “Take me to bed, Gladio.”

Everything in that instant happened in a blur. Talia felt Gladio’s hands lifting her up, his powerful steps as he carried her effortlessly into the tent, and the way he laid her down onto the bedroll as if she was made of the most precious ore. Clothes were shed in a frenzied hurry, lips attacking bare skin as if they were tasting the nectar of the Gods.

The dim glow of the lantern cast their shadows across the walls of the tent. Gladio’s moved south, trailing kisses along Talia’s bare stomach as he made his way between her legs, hoisting one over each shoulder.

His hands kept her spread open, his palms warm and calloused against the smooth skin of her thighs. Gladio pressed a kiss to her mound, his eyes never once leaving hers.

The intensity of his gaze had her looking away, but a sharp bite to her inner thigh had her yelping and glaring in his direction.

“Eyes on me,” he ordered, and the warmth of his breath spilled across the wetness spreading from her core. She propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes connecting with his, just in time to watch as he ran the entire flat of his tongue vertically up her slit.

“Fuck,” she breathed, feeling her heart starting to race. Every time she tried to pull her gaze away from his, she would feel Gladio’s nails dig into her skin just enough to catch her attention again. His tongue slid past her folds and massaged her walls, and the feeling of him filling her in any capacity had her desperately needing more.

He circled her clit, forming a pattern that she couldn’t quite place. She thought that maybe he was spelling his full name against her sensitive nub, but was also too far gone to process what was happening.

The passage of time ceased to exist as Gladio closed his lips around her sex, watching her with eyes that burned so bright that she thought she might turn to ash under his palms. He worshipped at her altar, humming hymns in his deep baritone that she felt all the way up into her chest as she sang his praises. 

Talia tipped over the edge, his name echoing through the trees as her body shook. Her heels dug into the broad muscles of his back, her hips lifting off the bedroll as she came, but Gladio never stopped. His mouth was insistent, almost as if he was begging for forgiveness for past transgressions through his devotion. He ate her out like a man starved, desperate and longing.

It wasn’t until she had to physically pry him away that he moved away, and she pulled him over her to kiss him deeply while hitching a leg over his hip.

“You gonna let me repay the favour?” She asked against his lips, reaching down to gently stroke his solid erection, hot and heavy against her skin.

“Don’t know if I’ll last if you do,” he admitted, reaching over into his pack to fish out a condom. Talia snatched it from his grasp and tore the foil with her teeth, pushing him to sit back on his haunches as she helped slide it down his girth. 

She tried to control the gentle shaking of her hands as she gripped him, massaging the latex down his shaft. As she reached the base, Gladio’s hand on her wrist halted her movements.

“If you’re nervous, we don’t have to do this,” he said quietly. “I won’t be upset if you want to stop here.”

Talia shook her head. “I mean…I won’t lie, I’m nervous,” she confessed, but then reached up to cup his jaw. “But I want this. I want _you._ More than anything.”

Gladio tensed as if it was his turn to be unsure, but Talia rose to her knees and looped her arms around his neck. She kissed him softly, smiling against his lips as she felt his hands snaking around her bare waist, lowering in her back to the ground.

He pulled away enough so that he could see her, looking into her eyes as he lined himself up and pushed inside.

Talia willed her body to relax, allowing for Gladio to press a little deeper, and deeper, and deeper still until he was fully hilted. She could feel the pounding of his heartbeat against her chest, his arm snaking beneath her to keep her flush against him. Any inch of space was too much, and he rolled his hips against hers, taking her deep every time. 

His thrusts were shallow, but his cock was still able to hit parts within her she never knew existed. She lifted her hips to meet him for every down swing, nails clawing at his back and arms to urge him on.

It felt like the first time, but then, not at all. It wasn’t the drunken frenzied fuck that had Talia on bent knees, facedown against the mattress like before. No—this time, Gladio held her close, looked her in the eye, and kept the pace slow and steady to reassure her that he wasn’t going anywhere. Every thrust was ecstasy, ever kiss and shared breath was an exchanging of souls. 

He’d already told her that he loved her, and now he wanted to show her.

And he did. Repeatedly, until the sun came up.

 

The next morning, closer to noon, Talia finally awoke with a pleasant ache between her legs. Gladio had more stamina and restraint than either of them had given him credit for. It wasn’t until Talia had rolled him onto his back and rode his cock hard and deep that he finally came with a roar, loud enough to scare away any wildlife in the nearby vicinity.

His arms were still wrapped around her when she finally opened her eyes. Gladio was never one to sleep in, but the exhaustion in his bones from several rounds of mind-blowing sex and the joy of just being in nature again gave him the excuse he needed to take it easy and be lazy for once in his life.

Talia kissed his chest and snuggled into the heat of his embrace, the most content she’d ever been. She traced the lines of his tattoo with the tip of her finger, swirling around the bird’s beak and the feathers that smoothed along his collarbone. He let out an amused grunt, peeking one eye open at her.

“Tickles.”

Talia repeated the motion again, grinning cheekily in his direction. She slid her finger closer to his underarm, and before she had a chance to tickle him properly, Gladio shot up out of nowhere and pounced on her, pinning her body underneath his. She couldn’t help but laugh, which he silenced with a kiss. In retaliation, she lifted her hips to grind her bare sex against his cock, which twitched back to life.

“You fight dirty,” Talia moaned as he filled her in one stroke, intertwining his fingers with hers above her head.

He smirked, nipping along the base of her neck. “You want dirty, babe? I’ll show you dirty.”

Needless to say, it was the perfect weekend.

—

_**Two months later…** _

“Ow.”

“Amira, don’t be a baby.”

“Shut up, Rion. You nearly cried when you got yours done.”

“That’s because I was getting emotional!” Rion protested, throwing his hands up in the air. His right wrist was bandaged, covering up a new tattoo of a small tree silhouette on the inside of his wrist. “How often do we get sibling tattoos? How about never, because you’ve always been such a stick in the mud. But now we’re all coming together and it’s just so sweet, and—”

“Rion,” Talia scolded, though a smile crept up on her face. “Shut up and let me focus. Please.”

Amira and Rion had finally found a time to come in so that they could all get tattooed together. Faye was going to do Talia’s once she was done with Amira’s. The three siblings had decided on getting small tree silhouettes, since their last name was a derivative of the latin word for ‘forest’.

“You doing okay, Mimi?” Talia asked as she started to fill in the outline, using the new machine that Gladio had gotten for her birthday.

“Yeah, it isn’t actually that bad,” she responded, watching with genuine fascination as Talia worked. “It doesn’t feel great, don’t get me wrong, but it isn’t too terrible.” After a beat, she said, “By the way, I have something to tell you.”

Talia looked up, taking her foot off the pedal so that the machine stopped running. “What is it?”

Amira bit back a smile. “Koren and I are looking into adopting. I think it’s time I put all my maternal energy to good use.”

Talia gaped at her older sister, and then to Rion, and back again. “Holy shit! Mimi, oh my gosh, that is such amazing news!” She then turned to glare at her brother. “You knew the whole time, and you didn’t tell me, didn’t you?”

Rion held his hands up again. “She told me a few days ago, it’s not like it’s some deep, dark secret that I hid from you or something. It’s not like she just told you she was Batman and that I was Robin this whole time.”

Talia wanted to smack her hand against her forehead, but she remembered that she was wearing gloves and couldn’t do it. So instead she finished up the tattoo for her sister, and cleaned her off.

“That’s really amazing news, though, Mimi. Really,” Talia promised. “You’re going to be a great mother.”

“Thanks Tally,” Amira beamed. “Can I go look at the tattoo in the mirror?”

“Of course,” Talia shed her gloves and brought her over to the mirror so she could examine her reflection. Amira’s smile grew as she saw herself with her fresh ink.

“It’s perfect,” she declared, throwing her arms around her baby sister. “I’m really proud of you. I hope you know that.”

“I’m proud of you too,” Talia murmured, locking her in an embrace. “I love you, Mimi. No matter what.”

“Me three!” Rion chimed, his wing span wide enough to envelope them both. “Love you, love you, love you!”

“Hey, break it up, you weirdos,” Faye chided as she came over to the three siblings. “Talia, you’ve still got to break down your station so that I can do your tattoo next. Once the three of you are all inked up and matchy-matchy, then you can be all adorable. Deal?”

They all laughed, and Talia nodded. “Deal.”

She made her way back over to her station and started to tear down. Talia carefully cleaned her machine and placed it in the top drawer of her station. Whenever she looked at it, she was reminded that a little piece of Gladio was with her, pushing her to work harder, to improve her craft, to put her heart and soul into everything that she did. 

And now, as Faye set up her station in her office, she would have a piece of her family with her as well, reminding her to always be true to herself, to love unconditionally, and to fearlessly follow her own path. She knew that regardless of whatever was to come, with her love and her family by her side, she was unstoppable.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slow, the tiniest smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Everything was going to be okay.


End file.
